Driving from Calgary to Seattle - Route Options?

[Wormius]

So, we were previously going to travel from Calgary to Kelowna, stop overnight, and then head to Seattle, but our reason to travel to Kelowna is no longer the case, so we're thinking of heading south into Montana and driving west.

There seem to be a few options for routes, and we'd consider breaking the trip up over 2 days if there was something entertaining along the way, or even if it was a little bit out of the way.

We have done the Going to the Sun Road a few times already, so we're not really entertaining that as a possible route, but is there anything worthwhile doing along the way? I remember Lake Chelan being quite a fun little spot, when I was younger, but I don't know if that is still the case.

We already have plans for Seattle, that include the City Pass attractions, and others like the Future of Flight and the Boeing tour. And then in Vancouver/Portland we're doing a bunch of Mt. St. Helens hikes and sightseeing. (Ape Caves, the observatories, etc).

[troutman]

Fastest way might be via Sandpoint Idaho, Spokane, Seattle. Cross the border south of Cranbrook.

Big amusement park at Couer d'alene

[Regulator75]

http://goo.gl/maps/4XO4X

Calgary, Yahk Border crossing, Sandpoint, Spokane then Seattle.
(No Montana).

Edit: What he said. ^^^

[ken0042]

This summer I went via Abbotsford on the way there, and via Spokane on the way home.

The Abbotsford route was 15 minutes quicker, but a longer wait at the border. The Spokane route has cheaper gas along more of the route, and better chances of hitting American fast food along the way.

[Ace]

+1 for the cheaper US gas, cross at Idaho

[TheGrimm]

My sister lives in Seattle so we've went just about every conceivable way over the years. Our usual is via Fernie -> Cranbrook -> Sandpoint -> Spokane etc.

Cool things to check out:

- Silverwood Amusement Park - Waterpark and Rides, pretty sweet rickety wooden rollercoasters and IMO one of the best waterparks I've been to.
- Gonzaga is pretty cool to check out, wife is a NCAA basketball nut so she was in her element..
- A bit out of the way, but interesting is "Leavenworth" which is a pretty picturesque Bavarian style town. We stopped in for some rot kraut and bratwursts with a stein of lager...

[Wormius]

Thanks. Not necessarily looking for a fast route, just a change of scenery from the usual route west along the Trans-Canada.

On the way back, I was hoping to head north, and as much as possible, follow along the coastline though and go through Vancouver.

[Misterpants]

Originally Posted by TheGrimm

My sister lives in Seattle so we've went just about every conceivable way over the years. Our usual is via Fernie -> Cranbrook -> Sandpoint -> Spokane etc.

Cool things to check out:

- Silverwood Amusement Park - Waterpark and Rides, pretty sweet rickety wooden rollercoasters and IMO one of the best waterparks I've been to.
- Gonzaga is pretty cool to check out, wife is a NCAA basketball nut so she was in her element..
- A bit out of the way, but interesting is "Leavenworth" which is a pretty picturesque Bavarian style town. We stopped in for some rot kraut and bratwursts with a stein of lager...

+1 for the Leavenworth route. Some great views along that stretch of Hwy (97 I believe).

[Minnie]

Wormius, if you're going to be in Vancouver/Portland, have you considered tacking on a 30 minute trip (give or take) and driving out to Multnomah Falls (east of Portland)? Beautiful spot.

As for which way to go, we have always done the Kingsgate/Eastport border crossing south of Yahk, and then through Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint, Spokane and Snoqaulmie Pass to Seattle. Also in Couer D'Alene, you could do the lake cruise.

A friend swears by this site for helping to find some spots to stop at/things to do along the route one is driving - https://roadtrippers.com/

You're in my old stomping grounds, so to speak. Was born in Vancouver, and lived in a few little places in the area - Kalama, Slide Creek, etc. Gorgeous drive along the coast if you go that route home.

[alan21]

Originally Posted by TheGrimm

My sister lives in Seattle so we've went just about every conceivable way over the years. Our usual is via Fernie -> Cranbrook -> Sandpoint -> Spokane etc.

Cool things to check out:

- Silverwood Amusement Park - Waterpark and Rides, pretty sweet rickety wooden rollercoasters and IMO one of the best waterparks I've been to.
- Gonzaga is pretty cool to check out, wife is a NCAA basketball nut so she was in her element..
- A bit out of the way, but interesting is "Leavenworth" which is a pretty picturesque Bavarian style town. We stopped in for some rot kraut and bratwursts with a stein of lager...

This is the way I take every time. Nice and easy drive with a no hassle border crossing open 24/7

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by Minnie

Wormius, if you're going to be in Vancouver/Portland, have you considered tacking on a 30 minute trip (give or take) and driving out to Multnomah Falls (east of Portland)? Beautiful spot.

It sure is!


Multnomah Falls by Witty Nickname, on ipernity

[tvp2003]

Instead of driving South through Fernie (i.e via Hwy 22 to Hwy 3), I prefer going West past Banff and then down Hwy 93 to Cranbrook. Much nicer drive in my opinion. Stop and take a dip in Radium Hot Springs if you're so inclined.

EDIT: While you're going west on I-90, there is an outlet mall in North Bend (apparently where they filmed Twin Peaks as well). Much quieter than the one north of Seattle in Tulalip.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

While you're going west on I-90, there is an outlet mall in North Bend

That is a great outlet mall. My aunt and uncle live in North Bend, so we hit that one up when we were visiting them a few years ago. There was some store or the other there at that point, that sold tools, which kept my husband occupied for quite a while. We may have dropped a lot of coin there.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by troutman

Fastest way might be via Sandpoint Idaho, Spokane, Seattle. Cross the border south of Cranbrook.

Big amusement park at Couer d'alene

It's a great drive. There is nothing but wasteland west of Spokane, until you start getting close to the Columbia River. Then it feels like you are driving into Mordor.

[Knalus]

I just did this drive last week. And twice before in the last year, going a different way each time.

If you are looking for a change of scenery, go south through Cardston, then across to Glacier Nat'l Park, through the Going To The Sun Highway. Awesome drive. Beautiful scenery, but a bit of a challenging drive, as it is a narrow road, and can be busy. The road is famous for being a beautiful road. This detour is totally worth it, but adds 2-3 hours to the trip. This makes it a 10 hour drive to Spokane instead of a 7 1/2 hour drive through the Yahk crossing.

I would not recommend going south around the park instead of through it. The road to St. Marys is a very twisty, hard road to drive, with decent scenery, but much worse driving. The pavement on that road is really not great, whereas through the Nat'l Park they re-did the paving last year.

Once into Montana, there are three ways of going as well, of which I have done all of them. The most direct one is also a nice drive. The two best (in my opinion) are south of Kalispell. One much longer route goes through Polson and south to the I90 near Missoula. This route will add about an hour or less to your drive. The I90 is an interstate, but a windy one. The best reason to go thorugh this route is the ridiculous "Miracle of America" museum in Polson. Kitchy, fun, ridiculous museum built out of one man's collection of stuff. If this isn't your thing, then a better drive is through Plains. On the Flathead Lake, take the highway 28 west of the little town of Elmo. Head south to the 200, either west to plains, or south along highway 382, either one is good, no difference there that I know of. Take the small highway 135 through the mountains, and even though it is slower, it is shorter, and a nicer drive in my opinion.

You could take the alternate, and that is going west through Libby to Sandpoint, but there is little reason to do this over the Canadian route, in my opinion. It's also somewhat longer by about a half hour.

The I90 is a really twisty interstate. not the easiest driving, and lots of speeders and traffic. Wallace is a nice enough town, I guess. Lots of antique stores.

Coeur d'Alene is a very nice town. It has an awesome restaraunt, Jimmy's Down the Street. We will plan our path based on this restaurant alone. My wife loves their crepes. I like the chicken fried steak. (get the Texas Breakfast). Note, hotels in Coeur d'Alene are hard to come by, and are expensive. This goes for the entire Idaho Panhandle. I have tried, but never gotten a room in Sandpoint. Spokane isn't much better for price, but availability is better (still hard). Spokane is a nice town. If you are looking to do an American shopping trip, it is almost as close as Great Falls, and a much better place to spend some time. Great Falls is a hole.

West of Spokane the terrain gets really flat, there is a pretty big stretch of open prairie for about 3 hours. The basalt flows in the area are also pretty cool for a rock nerd like myself. Lots of columnar Basalt.

The pass to Seattle along I90 is pretty good. Not a hard drive. Snoqualmie and North Bend are cool, if you like TV, Twin Peaks was filmed here. We stopped at a diner for a coffee, and it turns out it was the one on the show, and they had a map for sale of places where the show was shot.

If you choose to take a different route through the mountains, here's a tip. Taking a detour through Mt. Rainer is NOT a quick side trip. It's a cool mountain, but the path through it is a lot slower than the already slow highway 12.

If you are going to Portland (and I recommend it), take the highway south to Richland/Kennewick, and take I84. The gorge is beautiful. Multnomah falls is right close to the highway, so stop there. We thought it was a bit of a drive in from the highway, and it was late, only to be disappointed when we could glimpse it from the highway.
Interesting thing - there is a fish hatchery at exit 40 near Cascade Locks where there is a 70 year old Sturgeon. If you are ending up in Portland and then heading home, it is barely longer to head to Canada through Spokane straight from Portland than it is from Seattle. The hard part is getting through the cascades, and I84 is the best way to do it, even better than the I90 or the Coquihalla.

I also took a drive through Bend and central Oregon to Pendleton and Lewiston. Not much to mention about that route. It's very empty. The John Day fossil beds were cool to a rock geek like myself, though.

I have more opinions than this, especially about things on the coast itself.

[Minnie]

Yeah, Lewiston is deadness. My grandparents lived in Clarkston (they've since passed on), right across the river. It's blazing hot and deserty and blah.

[vennegoor of hesselink]

You could take the alternate, and that is going west through Libby to Sandpoint, but there is little reason to do this over the Canadian route, in my opinion. It's also somewhat longer by about a half hour.

If you go the normal way through Bonners Ferry then yes i agree but if you turn south at Troy on hwy 56 and then west when that road ends to hwy 200 you get a spectacular drive of Lake Pend Oreille which i believe is a US scenic byway

http://www.idahobyways.gov/byways/pend-orielle.aspx

[Northendzone]

there is a great little pizza jiont and a fantastic mexican place in sand point.

if you go to silverwood in coure delene be rpepared to waint in line for everything. the set up there is frustrating......

[calgarygringo]

We are regulars and will be heading there in september as well. We do the Crowsnest, Cranbrook, fernie, cross at Kingsgate, Sandpoint, Spokane, Seattle. As mentioned lots of gas stops in the right places, small towns if food is needed too. Overnight in Spokane or hang out for a day and then do Seattle.

[Delthefunky]

Cascades Highway is gorgeous... it's not even out of the way. I think you can cross at Osoyoos.