Seattle to Portland drive (I-5): 167 miles, 83 exits, 78 stories, what's worth stopping for
Downtown Seattle (exit 165) to Hayden Island, Portland's first exit (308): about 2 h 40 min at the speed limit, without stops. Our map ends at the Columbia River for now.
Sal narrates this drive live from Seattle to Grand Mound (exit 88). Past that, this page is your guide.
Each plays its stretch exit by exit, in order.
What Sal tells on this drive
| Exit | Where | Minutes in, at the speed limit | Worth stopping for | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle → Tacoma · 32 mi · 22 exits · 34 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 165 | Seattle | 0 min | Madison Street Market & Deli · 1 min off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 143 | Federal Way | 23 min | Black Angus · 1 min off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 137 | Fife | 30 min | Poodle Dog Restaurant · 1 min off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 135 | Tacoma | 32 min | Dixies BBQ · 1 min off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
⋯ 17 more
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 133 | Tacoma | 34 min | Food in Tacoma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tacoma → Olympia · 28 mi · 18 exits · 30 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 132 | Tacoma | 35 min | Food in Tacoma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 125 | Lakewood | 42 min | Banda Burrito · 1 min off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 124 | Lakewood | 43 min | Food in Lakewood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 120 | Hillside | 48 min | Captain Meriwether Lewis Memorial Park · 1 min off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
⋯ 13 more
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 105 | Olympia | 64 min | Food in Olympia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympia → Centralia · 23 mi · 8 exits · 20 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 104 | Tumwater | 65 min | Food in Tumwater | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 103 | Tumwater | 65 min | Food in Tumwater | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 102 | Tumwater | 67 min | Ramirez Tortilla Factory · 1 min off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 99 | Tumwater | 70 min | Food in Tumwater | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rest area: Maytown · southbound, milepost 93 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
⋯ 3 more
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 82 | Centralia | 84 min | Fort Borst Park Dog Park · 2 min off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Centralia → Kelso · 43 mi · 19 exits · 39 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 81 | Centralia | WinCo Foods · 1 min off | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 79 | Chehalis | 88 min | Lewis County Coffee Company · 1 min off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 68 | 98 min | Spiffy's Restaurant & Bakery · 1 min off | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 59 | 106 min | RiversEdge Lodge & RV Park · 1 min off | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rest area: Toutle River · southbound, milepost 54 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
⋯ 14 more
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 39 | Kelso | 123 min | Food in Kelso | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kelso → Vancouver · 39 mi · 15 exits · 35 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 32 | 129 min | Kalama Sourdough Bakery · 2 min off | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30 | Kalama | 131 min | Food in Kalama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | La Center | 143 min | Michael Jordan’s Steak House – ilani · 1 min off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rest area: Gee Creek · southbound, milepost 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 153 min | Bortolami's Pizzeria · 1 min off | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
⋯ 10 more
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Vancouver | 158 min | Food in Vancouver | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vancouver → Portland · 2 mi · 1 exit · 2 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 308 | Portland (Hayden Island) | 160 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total: about 2 h 40 min at the speed limit, without stops.
Got 20 minutes?
- Exit 88 — End of the Trail Olympia → Centralia about 13 min round trip
- Exit 81 — WinCo Foods Centralia → Kelso about 12 min round trip
- Exit 79 — Lewis County Coffee Company Centralia → Kelso about 16 min round trip
- Exit 14 — Lava Java Kelso → Vancouver about 17 min round trip
Got 45 minutes?
- Exit 136 — Puyallup Tribe of Indians Historic Preservation Department Seattle → Tacoma about 23 min round trip
- Exit 120 — Captain Meriwether Lewis Memorial Park Tacoma → Olympia about 26 min round trip
- Exit 116 — Black Hill Tacoma → Olympia about 22 min round trip
- Exit 77 — Veterans Memorial Museum Centralia → Kelso about 23 min round trip
- Exit 39 — The Meltdown Centralia → Kelso about 22 min round trip
- Exit 30 — Kalama's Fallen Heros Kelso → Vancouver about 21 min round trip
- Exit 4 — El Jefe Birria & Tacos Kelso → Vancouver about 22 min round trip
- Exit 1 — Welcome to Washington Kelso → Vancouver about 26 min round trip
Got 90 minutes?
- Exit 154 — Pasifika NW Grill & Bar Seattle → Tacoma about 46 min round trip
Stories along the way
Exit 165 · Seattle
institutionRainier Club
The Rainier Club is Seattle's oldest private club, established in 1888 when Washington was still a territory. On September 30, 1904, the Rainier Club, designed by Spokane architects Kirtland Cutter and Karl Malgren, opened its doors.
Source: historylink.org
historyFirst United Methodist Church
The church, occupied by the oldest Christian congregation in Seattle, is located downtown on the west side of 5th Avenue between Marion and Columbia streets (811 5th Avenue) Construction began in 1907 and enough of the church was complete to hold sermons in it the following year. The Beaux Arts style sanctuary, with its 66-foot high interior ceiling, brick and terra cotta façade, and orange tile-covered central dome was completed and dedicated in 1910.
Source: historylink.org
developmentColumbia Center
On March 2, 1985, the first tenants occupy the 76-story Columbia Center, the tallest building in the Pacific Northwest.
Source: historylink.org
sightSeattle Central Library
On May 23, 2004, The Seattle Public Library opens its new Central Library at 1000 4th Avenue. Some 26,600 people come downtown on a sunny Sunday to celebrate the opening.
Source: historylink.org
historyArctic Building
The nine-story building remained home to the Arctic Club until 1971. the Arctic Building was the first downtown building to use exterior color in terra cotta.
Source: historylink.org
historyKing County Courthouse
In 1931, 10 stories were added to the 1916 four story building to bring the courthouse to its current height. Until 1962, the County-City Building accommodated the offices of King County and City of Seattle government.
Source: historylink.org
historySmith Tower
Smith Tower, completed in 1914 at 462 feet, was the tallest building west of the Mississippi at completion and remained the tallest on the West Coast until the Space Needle in 1962.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
historyFairmont Olympic Hotel
Its construction was financed with community bonds and it stands on the original site of the University of Washington. After gathering a list of 3,906 names from the community, a committee chose The Olympic .
Source: historylink.org
developmentHenry M. Jackson Federal Building
The Henry M. Jackson Federal Building (JFB) is a 37-story United States Federal Government skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington. Located on the block bounded by Marion and Madison Streets and First and Second Avenues, the building was completed in 1974 and won the Honor Award of the American Institute of Architects in 1976. Among the structures torn down to build the federal building were the Richardsonian Romanesque Burke Building (built 1889–91), the Hotel Stevens, and the Rivoli Theater, a burlesque house. In 1984, the building was rededicated and named to honor Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson (1912-1983), a Democratic U.S. Congressman and Senator
Source: en.wikipedia.org
institutionFederal Reserve Bank Building
Designed in 1949 by architect William Bain Sr. (1896-1985) of the firm NBBJ (Naramore, Bain, Brady and Johanson) in the Moderne style, the building's design conveys a sense permanence and security. In February 2008 the branch closed when bank operations moved to a new building in Renton.
Source: historylink.org
history5th Avenue Theatre
Designed by architect Robert C. Reamer (1873-1938), with interior design supervised by Gustav Liljestrom of San Francisco, the theater embraced Seattle’s growing connection to the Far East by employing a Chinese theme, debuting a full eight months before the now-famous Grauman’s (now Mann’s) Chinese Theatre in Hollywood first opened. After closing in 1978, the theater was rescued by a coalition of local companies and arts patrons, who funded a $2.6 million restoration of the classic venue.
Source: historylink.org
historySeattle Tower
When it was built, the designers added "more than 300 flood light units, located in the offsets, which will shoot their rays upward, while one color gradually gives way to another, producing a beautiful and effective aurora borealis, visible for miles" (Casteel). Locals called it the Northern Lights building and the company newsletter was known as the Northern Lights , then, through the 1970s, the Aurora Borealis. The aurora floodlights were dismantled in 1942, likely never to return.
Source: historylink.org
historyCobb Building
The Cobb was the West Coast's first building designed expressly for physicians and dentists, and it included a bank of four high-speed elevators, additional gas and electrical service and a built-in vacuum cleaning system. A relief of Hippocrates stands guard over the building entrance.
Source: historylink.org
developmentRainier Square Tower
Rainier Square Tower, completed in 2020, is Seattle's second-tallest building at 850 feet. It has a sloping shape that narrows toward the top, and the taper was lowered so it would not block views of the pedestal base of the Rainier Tower next door.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
historyColman Building
The Colman Building in downtown Seattle was built by James M. Colman (1832-1906) in 1889. In 1904, the Colman Building was transformed. Four additional floors were added. By 1906, the new Colman Building was complete, and for a time dominated the landscape of the “Commission District” and waterfront of downtown Seattle with six stories and a full-block bulk.
Source: historylink.org
historyPioneer Square and the Great Fire
The Great Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889, started when glue being heated in a cabinet shop boiled over, destroyed 29 city blocks of the central business district; the city rebuilt in brick with streets raised above the original level, creating the Seattle Underground.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
historyEagles Auditorium Building
In active use by the Eagles until 1981, as a rental facility it hosted many memorable light show/dance events known as Trips Festivals during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Source: historylink.org
institutionBenaroya Hall
In 1993, Jack and Becky Benaroya gave an unsolicited $15 million to the project, which triggered enthusiasm for it among other donors. The state, city, and county promised support as well. The hall was built in two years, on time and on budget at $118 million.
Source: historylink.org
quirkHammering Man
On September 28, 1991, Hammering Man, a 48-foot-tall metal sculpture created by Jonathan Borofsky for the entrance to the new Seattle Art Museum, falls and is damaged. In September 1992, the repaired sculpture was reinstalled in front of the Seattle Art Museum at 1st Avenue and University Street in downtown Seattle.
Source: historylink.org
institutionSeattle Art Museum
On December 5, 1991, SAM reopened in a downtown facility designed by Robert Venturi; the cost of the build was US$62 million
Source: en.wikipedia.org
institutionIvar's Acres of Clams
Folk singer Ivar Haglund opened Seattle's first aquarium and a fish-and-chips stand on Pier 54 in 1938, expanding to the full Ivar's Acres of Clams restaurant in 1946; his motto was 'Keep Clam' and the restaurant still operates on the pier.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
quirkGum Wall
The Gum Wall in Post Alley beneath Pike Place Market started after the Market Theater began hosting Unexpected Productions' Theatresports in 1991, when patrons stuck used gum on the walls by the theater's box office. After several cleanings, Market officials let it stay, deeming it a tourist attraction around 1999.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
institutionColman Dock ferries
Washington State Ferries is the largest ferry system in the United States. It has run since June 1, 1951, and its fleet is painted white with green trim. Colman Dock is its flagship Seattle terminal, serving the Bainbridge Island and Bremerton routes.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
institutionPike Place Market
Pike Place Market opened August 17, 1907, when crowds of shoppers met six to 12 farmers' wagons and bought them out by lunchtime; it is one of the oldest continuously operating public markets in the United States.
Source: pikeplacemarket.org
institutionUwajimaya
Uwajimaya was founded in Tacoma in 1928 by Fujimatsu and Sadako Moriguchi; Fujimatsu sold homemade fishcakes and other Japanese staples from the back of his truck. Its Seattle flagship anchors Uwajimaya Village in the heart of the Chinatown-International District, and the family-owned business is now led by granddaughter Denise Moriguchi, the third generation.
Source: uwajimaya.com
developmentOverlook Walk
Overlook Walk, opened October 4, 2024 where the Alaskan Way Viaduct once stood, is an elevated park creating the first pedestrian connection between downtown and the waterfront, bridging the nearly 100-vertical-foot gap between Pike Place Market and the new Park Promenade on Elliott Bay.
Source: harrell.seattle.gov
institutionOriginal Starbucks
The 'Original Starbucks' at 1912 Pike Place is the company's oldest surviving store; the first shop opened in 1971 at 2000 Western Avenue and moved to the Pike Place location in 1976.
Source: seattletimes.com
Exit 164 · Seattle
quirkI-90 western terminus
Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at about 3,100 miles; its western terminus is at SR 519 near Seattle's stadiums and its eastern end is in Boston.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
developmentJudkins Park Station and the Crosslake Connection
Sound Transit's 2 Line opened across Lake Washington on March 28, 2026, with new stations at Judkins Park and Mercer Island. It was the first time anywhere in the world that a metro line carried commuters across a floating bridge.
Source: soundtransit.org
Exit 154 · Tukwila
developmentSR 518
SR 518 runs from Burien past Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and ends at an interchange with I-5 in Tukwila, as the freeway becomes I-405. It was codified in 1937, and during the 1970s the roadway was widened into a freeway to serve the airport.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
quirkFoster Rock
The Foster Rock was found when King County leveled 51st Avenue South, survived a dynamite blast, and was dragged to an intersection where students began painting it in the 1930s. In the sixties it was moved up to the Foster High School campus.
Source: westsideseattle.com
historyTukwila School
The Tukwila School, built in 1920, taught grades one through six until 1946. The city used it as its Town Hall from 1947 to 1978, it was the Tukwila Library from 1980 to 2010, and the Tukwila Historical Society renamed it the Tukwila Heritage and Cultural Center.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
institutionTukwila Library
The $9.6 million Tukwila Library opened on April 29, 2017, at Tukwila International Boulevard and S 144th Street. It replaced the nearby Foster Library and was the first building completed in the six-acre Tukwila Village development.
Source: historylink.org
Exit 153 · Tukwila
sightTukwila Pond Park
Tukwila Pond Park is a 24-acre natural area in the midst of Southcenter, most of it a 19-acre pond that formed in this low-lying area after development spread across the formerly agricultural river valley after the 1950s. The Audubon Society noted it as a bird observation site.
Source: archive.seattletimes.com
Exit 152 · Tukwila
developmentBow Lake Transfer Station
King County's Bow Lake Transfer Station at 18800 Orillia Rd. S. handles more than one-third of all the tonnage in the County's solid waste transfer system. A redevelopment begun in early 2009 opened a new transfer building in 2012, with the whole project due in late 2013.
Source: westsideseattle.com
historyTyee High School
The original Tyee High School, built in 1963, had six circular buildings arranged in a V shape around a courtyard. It served the SeaTac community for 60 years, and a new Tyee High School opened in 2025.
Source: tyee.highlineschools.org
institutionValley View Library
The Valley View Library grew from the McMicken Library of 1954 and the Valley Ridge Library of 1960, and the citizen-named library opened on May 22, 1982. It was renovated in 2002 and again in 2016.
Source: historylink.org
Exit 137 · Fife
historyFife Memorial Fountain
In 1914 the Fife Memorial Fountain was a watering station for horses pulling wagons of rhubarb, milk and other goods, and it announced arrival in Gardenville, the early name of the Fife area before its 1957 incorporation. It was moved several times until 2016, when it got its final home mere feet from its original spot at 54th Avenue and 20th Street.
Source: fifehistorymuseum.org
historyFife High School
Fife High School was founded on December 23, 1899, as the upper grades of the general Fife School. A secondary building went up in 1904, and the high school separated from the lower grades in 1930, when its new building was completed.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
institutionFife History Museum
The Fife History Museum and Cultural Center is located in the former home of Louis Dacca. The City of Fife acquired the home and the adjacent land the family once farmed in 2000, and that farmland became Dacca Park while the home was renovated as the museum.
Source: fifehistorymuseum.org
sightFife Engine & Caboose
ALCO C-415 Number 684 was built in July of 1968 for the Chehalis and Western Railroad, and its log trains to the Port of Tacoma ran from 1980 to 1992. The City of Fife took possession of the engine in January of 2009, and it is on permanent display at the Fife History Museum in Dacca Park.
Source: fifewa.gov
Exit 130 · Tacoma
historyPierce County Pauper Cemetery
Even then, the site offers no hint that more than 1,600 people are buried here, all laid to rest between the 1880s and 1920s in what then was the Pierce County pauper cemetery and now is a forgotten memory. Pierce County bought land for its pauper cemetery from the adjacent Tacoma Cemetery in 1885, according to a history written by the Heritage League of Pierce County. The plot also borders Oakwood Hill Cemetery on the west and the Tacoma Mausoleum on the south, forming a small historical burial district where South 52nd Street meets South Junett. In 1973, the county sold the land back to Tacoma Cemetery.
Source: heraldnet.com
Exit 129 · Tacoma
sightOak Tree Park
Garry Oak habitat used to be widespread in the south sound region. These ecosystems were protected and managed by Native Americans for thousands of years to stop evergreen forests from taking over these open areas. Now only a few examples remain. This park is one of those remnants.
Source: wta.org
Exit 125 · Lakewood
institutionLakewood Station
Lakewood station was originally scheduled to open in 2002 as part of a Sounder extension, but plans were delayed due to funding issues and the state government's work on the Point Defiance Bypass project. Construction on the $33 million station and garage began in March 2007 and it opened for use by buses on September 18, 2008. Sounder service to Lakewood began in October 2012 and the pedestrian bridge opened a few months later.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Exit 124 · Lakewood
historyTacoma Country and Golf Club
Tacoma Country and Golf Club is a private golf course and country club in Tacoma, Washington. Created in 1894, it had the first golf course in the Western United States not on a military reservation (the Mare Island course opened in 1892), and is the oldest continuously operating golf club in the West.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
historyGravelly Lake
The lake is fed by groundwater and has no surface drainage channels. Called Cook‑al‑chy (pond lily) by the native people, the lake was named Gravelly Lake due to the gravel-covered lake bed.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Exit 122 · Lakewood
historyCoffee Strong
Coffee Strong was a GI coffeehouse based on the tradition of resistance coffee houses opened during the Vietnam War by antiwar veterans and active duty soldiers in the United States. Based in Lakewood, Washington, it was founded in 2008 by veterans returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It was located within 300 meters of the gates at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
quirkSilcox Island
Silcox Island is an inhabited island in American Lake in Pierce County, Washington. Silcox Island is named for Albert Silcox, who originally acquired the land. Until 1968, there was no electric or telephone service to the island.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
sightAmerican Lake
American Lake is a lake in Lakewood, Washington at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. It is the largest natural lake in Pierce County. There are two public parks on the large lake: American Lake North Park, and Harry Todd Park.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Exit 120 · Hillside
historySequalitchew Lake
In 1959 and 1960 the Washington Department of Fisheries used Sequalitchew Lake as a fish farm that reared and released coho salmon to Sequalitchew Creek. From 1976 until the mid-1990s the department operated a coho salmon fish hatchery and rearing facility on the lake.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Exit 119 · DuPont
historyLaughbon High School
Laughbon High School, built onto the existing DuPont School and named for longtime superintendent Wendell B. Laughbon, opened in 1961 for 10th grade, adding 11th and 12th graders in 1963 and 1964. It held its last graduation in 1973, and the building was demolished in January 1989.
Source: dupontmuseum.com
developmentSteilacoom-DuPont Road interchange
In July 2015 the Legislature funded the $495 million I-5 Mounts Road to Thorne Lane project, which widens seven miles of I-5 from DuPont to Lakewood with an HOV lane each way and rebuilds interchanges with roundabouts, grade-separated from the rail line. The rebuild of the Steilacoom-DuPont Road interchange was scheduled to be complete in late 2026.
Source: wsdot.wa.gov
historyIafrati Park
By the mid-1860s there were 34 children in DuPont, and the first school was built in 1866, from donations by local families, on the site of Iafrati Park in the Historic Village.
Source: dupontmuseum.com
historyPoint Defiance Bypass
The Northern Pacific Railway built the Lakewood–DuPont section of the line in 1891, and passenger service on it ended entirely in 1956. The route was identified as a passenger rail bypass in 1992, rebuilt from 2015, and passenger service resumed on November 18, 2021.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
sightEdmond Marsh
The City of DuPont's 0.9-mile Edmond Marsh Trail crosses Sequalitchew Creek on a footbridge and over culverts as the creek runs through Edmond Marsh. The trail also passes the 1843 Fort Nisqually site.
Source: dupontwa.gov
Exit 118 · DuPont
developmentNorthwest Landing
Weyerhaeuser bought the 3,200-acre former explosives plant site from the DuPont Company in 1976, intending a wood products export facility, then turned to land development when the lumber market declined in the early 1980s. Plans for Weyerhaeuser's Northwest Landing, a residential, commercial and industrial development, were approved in 1989.
Source: dupontwa.gov
sightChloe Clark Statue
The Chloe Clark Statue was dedicated on July 10, 2010, the 170th anniversary of Chloe Clark's arrival at Fort Nisqually in 1840 as the first American school teacher in the Puget Sound region. The Steilacoom Historical Education Foundation's Chloe Clark Memorial Committee raised the funds and managed its construction.
Source: hmdb.org
Exit 114 · Nisqually
institutionBilly Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
Proposals for a deep-water port facility, an aluminum mill and a landfill on the Nisqually Delta were denied, largely as a result of citizen efforts led by teacher Margaret McKenny and the Nisqually Delta Association. The refuge was established in 1974 and was renamed on December 18, 2015, to honor Nisqually Tribal leader Billy Frank, Jr.
Source: fws.gov
historyTreaty Tree
The Treaty of Medicine Creek was signed on December 26, 1854, in a grove of Douglas fir trees near the Nisqually River delta. The grove's last tree, the Treaty Tree, was dead by 1979, and its snag stood visible from the Interstate until it fell during severe windstorms in 2007.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
historyNisqually River
The northbound bridge that carries Interstate 5 near the Nisqually River's mouth opened in 1938 for U.S. Route 99, and a southbound span followed in 1968. The bridges cross the delta on a filled causeway that altered the river's course and increased flood risk.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
institutionWa He Lut Indian School
T. Maiselle Bridges and members of the Frank’s Landing Indian Community founded Wa He Lut Indian School in 1974. They wanted Native American children to get the education promised in the Medicine Creek Treaty.
Source: whlis.org
historyBrown farm
Seattle lawyer Alson Brown bought 2,350 acres on the western bank of the Nisqually River in 1904, built a four-mile-long dike and farmed the drained marsh until he went bankrupt in 1918. In 2009 a roughly $13 million project removed his dike, turning 762 acres of fields back into tidelands.
Source: historylink.org
Exit 111 · Lacey
developmentHawks Prairie
In April 1982 the real-estate branch of the Weyerhaeuser Company, with Burlington Northern, revealed plans for an industrial and residential complex called Hawks Prairie on the west side of the Nisqually Delta, for 6,000 residents and up to 20,000 jobs. Despite objections from the Nisqually Delta Association, the development was approved and the area was soon after incorporated into the City of Lacey.
Source: historylink.org
institutionRiver Ridge High School
River Ridge High School was established in 1993 to handle overflow from Timberline and North Thurston High Schools, and was named for its proximity to the ridge of the Nisqually River valley. It earned its Hawks nickname from its location in the Hawk's Prairie area off Exit 111 of Interstate 5.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
sightHawks Prairie Ponds & Recharge Basins
At this 40-acre site in northeast Lacey, Class A reclaimed water from the Martin Way Reclaimed Water Plant flows through a series of five constructed wetland ponds. It then flows to shallow gravel basins, where it soaks into the soil and mixes with groundwater.
Source: lottcleanwater.org
Exit 105 · Olympia
historyWashington State Capitol
The Washington State Capitol's dome, completed in 1928 after a construction saga that stalled for decades following a false start in 1893, stands 287 feet tall — the tallest self-supporting masonry dome in North America and the fifth-tallest of its kind in the world.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Exit 101 · Tumwater
institutionBush Middle School
Bush Middle School in Tumwater is named for the family of George and Isabella Bush, who arrived in Thurston County in 1844 among the first non-Indigenous American settlers. Bush Prairie, five miles south of Olympia, is named for the same family.
Source: olympiahistory.org
Exit 99 · Tumwater
sightTumwater West Preserve
The Tumwater West Preserve is a 67.5-acre preserve in southwest Tumwater, protected with a conservation easement acquired on June 22, 2021 to safeguard the Olympia subspecies of Mazama pocket gopher and dry prairie and grassland habitat. It is not open to the public.
Source: cnlm.org
Exit 95 · Maytown
developmentState Route 121
In 1991 the Rochester–Maytown highway was removed from the state highway system, and SR 121 was realigned as a loop through Millersylvania State Park.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
historyCase Road
In 1913 the original Pacific Highway route between Olympia and Centralia followed the "middle road," today called Case Road. The road was completed in 1858 and bypassed Tenino on its way to Grand Mound.
Source: pacific-hwy.net
Exit 88 · Grand Mound
historyPhoebe Judson at Grand Mound
The Judsons arrived at their new home in Grand Mound (Thurston County) in October 1853.
Source: historylink.org
historySamuel James claim
Arriving at Grand Mound in 1852, Mr. James took up a donation claim of 320 acres on the Chehalis River, built a cabin home and started to improve what afterwards became one of the finest farms in Thurston County.
Source: jtenlen.drizzlehosting.com
historyGrand Mound post office
On January 21, 1854, the Grand Mound post office and general store was established by Durgin. Afterwards the mail was then brought in by auto until the post office was shut down forever on June 30, 1955.
Source: pacific-hwy.net
historyGoodell stage line
During December of 1854, William. B. Goodell established stage line, which ran between Olympia and the Cowlitz Landing. The rates were; from Olympia to Grand Mound, $3.50, and $10 from Olympia to the Cowlitz Landing.
Source: pacific-hwy.net
historyGrand Mound women vote 1870
On June 6, 1870, Charlotte Emily Olney French (1828-1897), after a debate with the election judges, casts her vote in a Washington territorial election, the first woman to do so. Six more women at her Grand Mound precinct in south Thurston County also vote that day.
Source: historylink.org
historyGrand Mound nurseries
In 1856, a pair of nurseries were established at Grand Mound. One was opened by Durgin, and the other by Gangloff & Moxlie. Both nurseries had many varieties of apple trees and various kinds of pear, peach, plum, cherry, currant, gooseberry, along with many types of flowers and berries.
Source: pacific-hwy.net
historyGrand Mound prairie
The Grand Mound prairie is Upper Chehalis territory, where a large settlement called Aqaygt, meaning long open space, once stood. The prairie's name, nsq'wanxtn, means place to dry hides on a frame.
Source: pacific-hwy.net
developmentGreat Wolf Lodge Grand Mound
In March 2008, a 398-room Great Wolf Lodge opened in Grand Mound, which was majority owned by the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Questions about this drive
- How long does the Seattle to Portland drive take?
- About 2 h 40 min of driving at the speed limit, without stops, from the Seattle end to the Portland end. The total is under the exit table.
- How far is Seattle to Portland?
- 167 miles along I-5, measured over the same 83 exits this page lists.
- What is the halfway point of this drive?
- Exit 88, Grand Mound. It is the exit nearest the midpoint of the routed time, so it is where to stop if you want to break the drive once.
- What is worth stopping for between Seattle and Portland?
- Picks from along the drive: Lake Washington at exit 163, Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls at exit 104, Kalama Sourdough Bakery at exit 32. The table below covers all 83 exits and names the top stop at each one that has one, with how far off the road it is.
- Is there anything to know about I-5 along the way?
- 78 stories are placed at the exits they belong to, each with the source it came from.
- Are there rest areas on this drive?
- Maytown, Toutle River, Gee Creek. Each is listed with its milepost and which direction it serves.
- Where does Sal narrate on this drive?
- Sal narrates this drive live from Seattle to Grand Mound (exit 88). Past that, this page is your guide. Start a drive from the button at the end of this page.
- What about the drive back, Portland to Seattle?
- It is a separate page, because the routed time and the exits you actually pass are not the same in reverse on a divided highway. The link is at the top of this page.
withby tells you what is coming before the exit, not after it.
Drive it with Sal — live from Seattle to Grand Mound