Drive guide
I-5 — Everett to Vancouver BC
27 things worth knowing along this corridor, in the order you meet them driving. Every one is sourced.
Sal reads these as you pass them, and answers when you ask.
Start a withby driveAlong the way
developmentSecret Creek
The $57.5 million project, funded by the Move Ahead Washington transportation package, is intended to open up fish passage in Secret Creek under the interstate and Old Highway 99.
Source: cascadiadaily.com
institutionStillaguamish Tribe of Indians
On October 27, 1976, the Tribe achieved federal recognition and treaty rights, and were made eligible for federal services. The Tribe's 64 acres of land was recognized as a reservation in 2014.
Source: stillaguamish.com
quirkSalish wool dogs
The woolley dogs were small with white coats. They were not used for hunting. The dogs were kept in packs and confined from other animals. When long enough their coats would be sheared and used for weaving.
Source: stillaguamish.com
developmentStillaguamish River Bridge
The Stillaguamish River Bridge was first built in 1933 with two lanes in each direction of Highway 99. It became part of I-5 in the 1960s. A second three-lane bridge was built just east of the original for northbound I-5 traffic in 1971.
Source: heraldnet.com
developmentIsland Crossing
Arlington City Council’s decision to annex Island Crossing is legal and valid, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair ruled Thursday. The City council voted unanimously Nov. 17 to add 210 acres into the city limits, roughly half of which is the Island Crossing area.
Source: heraldnet.com
developmentLakewood joins Marysville
The city will grow by nearly 500 acres and 2,000 people on Monday as Lakewood becomes part of Marysville. The Lakewood School District is not part of the annexation. Under state law, it must annex separately.
Source: heraldnet.com
sightLake Armstrong
Lake Armstrong is a 30.8 acre lake located 2.5 miles north of Arlington. It has an average depth of 15 feet and a maximum depth of 24 feet. The watershed, or the land area that drains into the lake, covers 434.4 acres and is mostly undeveloped.
Source: snohomishcountywa.gov
quirkGissberg Twin Lakes
Gissberg Twin Lakes, once called Gissberg Ponds, are rectangular, spring-fed lakes. They were created by gravel excavation when I-5 was built in the early 1960s.
Source: heraldnet.com
seasonalTulalip Lights & Ice
In November 2025 the Tulalip Lights & Ice opening ceremony switched on 9.7 million lights adorning Tulalip Resort Casino and Quil Ceda Village. It was the fourth year Tulalip hosted the largest holiday lights display in Washington state.
Source: heraldnet.com
quirkSmokey Point busiest rest area
About 2.1 million people stop at the Smokey Point rest area on northbound I-5 every year, making it the busiest in the state.
Source: archive.seattletimes.com
sightGiant Cedar Stump
The camera club was following in the lustrous wake of Crown Prince Olav and Princess Martha of Norway, who, a few days earlier, had driven through this often-sideswiped artifact without hitting it. It reads: “Relic of a Vanquished Forest / Western Red Cedar / (Thuja Plicata Don) /Age 1250 years / Preserved at Request of Snohomish Co. Pioneers /A.D. Arlington, Washington 1922.”
Source: seattletimes.com
developmentTulalip Resort Casino
A 12-story hotel with 370 rooms opened at the Tulalip Resort Casino on August 15, 2008. The casino itself opened in 2003 as the Tulalip Casino.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
historyTulalip Amphitheatre
Country star Trisha Yearwood became the first ticketed attraction at the new 2,300-seat Tulalip Amphitheatre in Quil Ceda Village, which represents the Tulalips' efforts to diversify. It was built at a cost of more than $2 million.
Source: archive.seattletimes.com
developmentOliver ‘Punks’ Smith Interchange
In July 2008 the state Transportation Commission named the I-5 overpass at 172nd Street NE the Oliver ‘Punks’ Smith Interchange, after the Arlington city councilman who united Marysville and Arlington to fund widening the former two-lane overpass. The group raised nearly $10 million and the work was finished in 2004.
Source: heraldnet.com
developmentSeattle Premium Outlets
On February 4, 2004, the Tulalip Tribes reached an agreement with Chelsea Property Group, a developer of outlet malls based in Roseland, New Jersey, to build an outlet mall known as Seattle Premium Outlets. The mall opened on May 5, 2005
Source: en.wikipedia.org
developmentCabela's Tulalip
On June 6, 2011, the Tulalip Tribes announced that Cabela's would build a 110,000-square-foot store, its second in the state, between The Home Depot and the resort casino; the land had remained empty since the opening of the business park due to the tribe seeking an ideal business for the property. A ground-breaking ceremony for the store occurred in August 2011; it subsequently opened on April 19, 2012.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
institutionSno-Isle Libraries
Sno-Isle was formed in 1962 to serve Island and Snohomish counties. A new headquarters building near Marysville was constructed in 1965.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
quirkI-5 railroad bridge
In 2016 the unused railroad bridge that spans I-5 near 116th Street NE was Tulalip Tribes property. Its rails remained on the bridge but were no longer connected to any main lines.
Source: heraldnet.com
historySmokey Point Café
The community of Smokey Point got its name in the 1950s from the Smokey Point Café, a restaurant on the northwest corner of 172nd Street NE and Smokey Point Boulevard. The café generated a plume of smoke, which gave the community its name.
Source: arlingtonwa.gov
historyMarysville-Everett cutoff
The Marysville-Everett cutoff opened in 1927 as part of the Pacific Highway, later designated SR 529. It shortened the distance between Marysville and Everett from nearly 11 miles to four miles.
Source: historylink.org
historyMarysville Opera House
The Marysville Opera House was finished by August 1911. It was the second known structure in Snohomish County to use poured concrete rather than timber or masonry.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
quirkMarysville's town hall
On March 12, 1923, Marysville moved its town hall four blocks from Front Street to 3rd and Delta streets. The building got stuck in the middle of the railroad tracks that cross 3rd Street just east of Cedar Street.
Source: historylink.org
historyEbey Slough Bridge
The Ebey Slough Bridge is one of four bridges built between 1925 and 1927 to link Everett and Marysville. It is a swing span that rotates on a mid-slough pivot to clear a channel for vessels. The bridge stopped opening for floating traffic in 2010.
Source: historylink.org
developmentI-5/SR 529 interchange project
On October 3, 2025, WSDOT opened a new northbound I-5 off-ramp to SR 529 at exit 198, part of the $123 million I-5/SR 529 interchange project. The new ramps are east of the BNSF railroad tracks, unaffected by passing trains.
Source: wsdot.wa.gov
historyMarysville water tower
The Marysville water tower, a 50,000-gallon steel tank in Comeford Park, was filled for the first time in 1921 as part of the city's new water system. A larger second tower near the waterfront came down in 1987.
Source: marysvillehistory.org
historyWashington Co-Operative Chick Association
In May 1937, about 200 acres of farmland near the southeast corner of Rex's Corner were bought from members of the Hild family. The land was developed into Master Breeding Farms No. 2 and No. 3, managed by the Washington Co-Operative Chick Association for scientific poultry research.
Source: arlingtonwa.gov
developmentSmith Island Restoration Project
The Smith Island Restoration Project built a setback dike protecting Interstate 5, then breached the existing dike on August 10, 2018. Tidal waters returned to the site for the first time in 85 years.
Source: snohomishcountywa.gov
Landscape you can see from the road
| Feature | Type |
|---|---|
| Allen Creek | Stream |
| Baker Creek | Stream |
| Barnes Creek | Stream |
| Bear Creek | Stream |
| Buckingham Creek | Stream |
| Bulson Creek | Stream |
| Burlington Hill | Summit |
| Butler Creek | Stream |
| Cain Lake | Lake |
| California Creek | Stream |
| Carpenter Creek | Stream |
| Cedar Lake | Lake |
Stops along this corridor
| Kind | Count |
|---|---|
| restaurant | 870 |
| park | 380 |
| grocery | 339 |
| coffee | 333 |
| fast food | 318 |
| bar | 191 |
| museum | 11 |
| memorial | 10 |
| viewpoint | 8 |
| monument | 4 |
| peak | 3 |
| attraction | 1 |
Exits along this corridor
Each one lists what is actually within a short detour, ordered by how far off the highway it is.
- Exit 206 — 103 places worth stopping for
- Exit 208 — 28 places worth stopping for
- Exit 212 — 8 places worth stopping for
- Exit 221 — 24 places worth stopping for
- Exit 224 — 10 places worth stopping for
- Exit 225 — 29 places worth stopping for
- Exit 226 — 117 places worth stopping for
- Exit 227 — 127 places worth stopping for
- Exit 229 — 116 places worth stopping for
- Exit 230 — 129 places worth stopping for
- Exit 231 — 69 places worth stopping for
- Exit 232 — 17 places worth stopping for
- Exit 236 — 8 places worth stopping for
- Exit 240 — 5 places worth stopping for
- Exit 250 — 25 places worth stopping for
- Exit 252 — 98 places worth stopping for
- Exit 253 — 413 places worth stopping for
- Exit 254 — 351 places worth stopping for
- Exit 255 — 144 places worth stopping for
- Exit 256 — 155 places worth stopping for
- Exit 257 — 165 places worth stopping for
- Exit 258 — 48 places worth stopping for
- Exit 260 — 10 places worth stopping for
- Exit 262 — 91 places worth stopping for
- Exit 263 — 63 places worth stopping for
- Exit 266 — 5 places worth stopping for
- Exit 270 — 8 places worth stopping for
- Exit 274 — 9 places worth stopping for
- Exit 275 — 47 places worth stopping for
- Exit 276 — 81 places worth stopping for
Where to eat along this corridor
Town by town, what is actually within a short detour of the highway.
- Arlington — 23 places to eat
- Bellingham — 119 places to eat
- Blaine — 16 places to eat
- Burlington — 25 places to eat
- Castle Rock — 7 places to eat
- Des Moines — 11 places to eat
- DuPont — 11 places to eat
- Everett — 55 places to eat
- Federal Way — 19 places to eat
- Ferndale — 11 places to eat
- Fife — 36 places to eat
- Kalama — 9 places to eat
- Kelso — 19 places to eat
- Kent — 21 places to eat
- Lacey — 33 places to eat
- Lakewood — 76 places to eat
- Lynnwood — 46 places to eat
- Marysville — 36 places to eat
- Mount Vernon — 58 places to eat
- Mountlake Terrace — 6 places to eat
- Olympia — 35 places to eat
- Quil Ceda Village / qʷəl'sidəʔ ʔalʔaltəd — 21 places to eat
- Ridgefield — 6 places to eat
- Seattle — 809 places to eat
- Tacoma — 103 places to eat
- Tukwila — 83 places to eat
- Tumwater — 33 places to eat
- Vancouver — 57 places to eat
- Woodland — 32 places to eat
Coverage
withby narrates 1 map cells on this corridor today.
Sal reads these as you pass them, and answers when you ask.
Start a withby drive