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I-5 stories — what Sal tells on the road | withby
Sal’s stories

I-5, Everett to Olympia

24 stories · 21 min
EverettOlympia

Totem Park to Quil Ceda Village

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Totem Park to Quil Ceda Village
Stretch
I-5 — Totem Park to Quil Ceda Village
I-5 runs along the Tulalip Indian Reservation past Quil Ceda Village, a municipality established by the Tulalip Tribes.
64 s

Quil Ceda Village to Everett

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Quil Ceda Village to Everett
Stretch
I-5 — Quil Ceda Village to Everett
Between Quil Ceda Village and Everett, Interstate 5 crosses the Snohomish River delta on its final section, opened in 1969.
63 s

Everett to Pinehurst

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Pinehurst to Mill Creek

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Pinehurst to Mill Creek
Stretch
I-5 — Pinehurst to Mill Creek
I-5 runs south past the Everett Mall and Silver Lake to SR 96, west of Mill Creek, a planned community incorporated in 1983.
64 s

Mill Creek to Lynnwood

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Lynnwood to Ridgecrest

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Ridgecrest to Green Lake

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Ridgecrest to Green Lake
Stretch
I-5 — Ridgecrest to Green Lake
I-5 through north Seattle opened in 1965, partly over the old Seattle–Everett Interurban Railway, and was widened to eight lanes in 1966.
62 s

Green Lake to First Hill

5 stories · 3 min
U District Station
Place
U District Station
Proposed as early as 1911, U District station opened under Brooklyn Avenue on October 2, 2021.
17 s
Denny Regrade (Belltown)
Place
Denny Regrade (Belltown)
This flat stretch used to be Denny Hill — they blasted most of it into the bay with water cannons, and it took them over thirty years.
55 s
Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream
Place
Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream
Molly Moon Neitzel opened the first Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream shop in Wallingford in 2008; the business grew across the Seattle area.
48 s

First Hill to Rainier Valley

2 stories · 2 min
Pike Place Fish Market
Place
Pike Place Fish Market
A Pike Place fish market since 1930, famous for fishmongers who throw customers' orders.
55 s
Ivar's Acres of Clams
Place
Ivar's Acres of Clams
Old Ivar opened a fish-and-chips stand on that pier in nineteen thirty-eight — 'keep clam' was his motto, and his restaurant's still on the pier.
43 s

Rainier Valley to Foster

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Rainier Valley to Foster
Stretch
I-5 — Rainier Valley to Foster
Foster was a King County community, named for an early settler, later annexed into Tukwila.
55 s

Foster to Des Moines

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Des Moines to Lakeland North

3 stories · 3 min
Dick's Drive-In
Place
Dick's Drive-In
Dick's Drive-In's Kent location on Highway 99 opened in 2018, after over 177,000 people voted in a poll that favored South King County.
48 s
Star Lake (Lake)
View
Star Lake (Lake)
Star Lake, an old Military Road army campground, gave its name to a light rail station across I-5.
66 s
Lake Fenwick (Lake)
View
Lake Fenwick (Lake)
A long, narrow Kent lake where Fenwick fishing rods began in a lakeside garage in 1952.
61 s

Lakeland North to Lakeland South

4 stories · 4 min
Dick's Drive-In
Place
Dick's Drive-In
Dick's Drive-In, a Seattle chain founded in 1954, opened its ninth location in Federal Way in 2023.
52 s
Steel Lake (Lake)
View
Steel Lake (Lake)
A Federal Way lake named for settler Arthur Steele, where the city dropped an equipment-yard plan in 2023 after local opposition.
55 s
Lake Dolloff (Lake)
View
Lake Dolloff (Lake)
Lake Dolloff, a eutrophic King County lake stocked yearly with rainbow trout, with public access on its southeast end.
57 s

Lakeland South to Fife

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Fife to South Tacoma

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

South Tacoma to Lakeview

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Lakeview to Hillside

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Hillside to Nisqually

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Nisqually to Thompson Place

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Thompson Place to Olympia

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Olympia to Tumwater

4 stories · 3 min
Deschutes River (Stream)
View
Deschutes River (Stream)
The Deschutes River is a 50-mile Washington river ending at Budd Inlet on Puget Sound.
49 s
Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls
Place
Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls
A 15-acre private park on the Deschutes River, given to the community in 1962, with three waterfalls and a half-mile walking trail.
44 s
Moxlie Creek (Stream)
View
Moxlie Creek (Stream)
Moxlie Creek, named for an early settler, flows from Watershed Park springs to Budd Inlet in Olympia.
42 s

Tumwater to Maytown

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Tumwater to Maytown
Stretch
I-5 — Tumwater to Maytown
Interstate 5 runs south from Tumwater, named from the Chinook Jargon word for waterfall, to Maytown, a lumber town founded in 1911.
62 s

Maytown to Grand Mound

Northbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Maytown to Grand Mound

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Tumwater to Maytown

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Tumwater to Maytown
Stretch
I-5 — Tumwater to Maytown
Interstate 5 runs south from Tumwater, named from the Chinook Jargon word for waterfall, to Maytown, a lumber town founded in 1911.
62 s

Olympia to Tumwater

4 stories · 3 min
Deschutes River (Stream)
View
Deschutes River (Stream)
The Deschutes River is a 50-mile Washington river ending at Budd Inlet on Puget Sound.
49 s
Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls
Place
Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls
A 15-acre private park on the Deschutes River, given to the community in 1962, with three waterfalls and a half-mile walking trail.
44 s
Moxlie Creek (Stream)
View
Moxlie Creek (Stream)
Moxlie Creek, named for an early settler, flows from Watershed Park springs to Budd Inlet in Olympia.
42 s

Thompson Place to Olympia

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Nisqually to Thompson Place

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Hillside to Nisqually

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Lakeview to Hillside

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

South Tacoma to Lakeview

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Fife to South Tacoma

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Lakeland South to Fife

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Lakeland North to Lakeland South

4 stories · 4 min
Dick's Drive-In
Place
Dick's Drive-In
Dick's Drive-In, a Seattle chain founded in 1954, opened its ninth location in Federal Way in 2023.
52 s
Steel Lake (Lake)
View
Steel Lake (Lake)
A Federal Way lake named for settler Arthur Steele, where the city dropped an equipment-yard plan in 2023 after local opposition.
55 s
Lake Dolloff (Lake)
View
Lake Dolloff (Lake)
Lake Dolloff, a eutrophic King County lake stocked yearly with rainbow trout, with public access on its southeast end.
57 s

Des Moines to Lakeland North

3 stories · 3 min
Dick's Drive-In
Place
Dick's Drive-In
Dick's Drive-In's Kent location on Highway 99 opened in 2018, after over 177,000 people voted in a poll that favored South King County.
48 s
Star Lake (Lake)
View
Star Lake (Lake)
Star Lake, an old Military Road army campground, gave its name to a light rail station across I-5.
66 s
Lake Fenwick (Lake)
View
Lake Fenwick (Lake)
A long, narrow Kent lake where Fenwick fishing rods began in a lakeside garage in 1952.
61 s

Foster to Des Moines

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Rainier Valley to Foster

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Rainier Valley to Foster
Stretch
I-5 — Rainier Valley to Foster
Foster was a King County community, named for an early settler, later annexed into Tukwila.
55 s

First Hill to Rainier Valley

2 stories · 2 min
Pike Place Fish Market
Place
Pike Place Fish Market
A Pike Place fish market since 1930, famous for fishmongers who throw customers' orders.
55 s
Ivar's Acres of Clams
Place
Ivar's Acres of Clams
Old Ivar opened a fish-and-chips stand on that pier in nineteen thirty-eight — 'keep clam' was his motto, and his restaurant's still on the pier.
43 s

Green Lake to First Hill

5 stories · 3 min
U District Station
Place
U District Station
Proposed as early as 1911, U District station opened under Brooklyn Avenue on October 2, 2021.
17 s
Denny Regrade (Belltown)
Place
Denny Regrade (Belltown)
This flat stretch used to be Denny Hill — they blasted most of it into the bay with water cannons, and it took them over thirty years.
55 s
Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream
Place
Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream
Molly Moon Neitzel opened the first Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream shop in Wallingford in 2008; the business grew across the Seattle area.
48 s

Ridgecrest to Green Lake

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Ridgecrest to Green Lake
Stretch
I-5 — Ridgecrest to Green Lake
I-5 through north Seattle opened in 1965, partly over the old Seattle–Everett Interurban Railway, and was widened to eight lanes in 1966.
62 s

Lynnwood to Ridgecrest

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Mill Creek to Lynnwood

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Pinehurst to Mill Creek

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Pinehurst to Mill Creek
Stretch
I-5 — Pinehurst to Mill Creek
I-5 runs south past the Everett Mall and Silver Lake to SR 96, west of Mill Creek, a planned community incorporated in 1983.
64 s

Everett to Pinehurst

Southbound · not yet recorded
Nothing recorded here yet.

Quil Ceda Village to Everett

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Quil Ceda Village to Everett
Stretch
I-5 — Quil Ceda Village to Everett
Between Quil Ceda Village and Everett, Interstate 5 crosses the Snohomish River delta on its final section, opened in 1969.
63 s

Totem Park to Quil Ceda Village

1 story · 1 min
I-5 — Totem Park to Quil Ceda Village
Stretch
I-5 — Totem Park to Quil Ceda Village
I-5 runs along the Tulalip Indian Reservation past Quil Ceda Village, a municipality established by the Tulalip Tribes.
64 s
The story is written by withby from the sources listed on the page; the exit and the links are computed from the road.