I-5 Roadtrip Ideas

 If you're thinking of a family road trip up or down I-5, check out some of these ideas.  As a Seattle area native who attended college in Bellingham, WA and has family in the San Francisco Bay area, I've driven the stretch between Canada and San Francisco several times.  Now that we have little kids, I like to plan stops along the way.  Sometimes it's for bathroom breaks, and other times it's to give the kids some space from each other, since road tripping with a sibling can be rough.  For everyone in the car.

Some pro tips for the car setup:

• Have a tote or backpack with access to easy non-fast food snacks and drinks.
• Have another tote or bag for garbage.
• Have window shades for back windows.  If the kids have less glare on their screens, they can enjoy more screen time, which may mean less arguing.  Sometimes, the nice window screens don't totally cover the window, and sun can glare through.  On our last trip, I had packed a roll of black garbage bags, and we ended up rolling the windows down an inch, sticking an inch or so of black garbage bag out of the top of the windows, and then rolling them back up.  It was not a fancy solution, but it kept sun out of the kids' eyes and glare off of their screens.
• If you plan to spend several days at a destination, but only one day in a hotel going up or down I-5, I highly recommend packing a single suitcase or bag for the entire family for that one travel night.  You can re-organize bags once you reach your destination.  On our way down to California, I had to lug everyone's suitcase up to the room for one night, along with our grocery tote.  On the way back, I made sure to pack so that I only needed to bring up one bag, plus the grocery tote, and it made getting on the road in the morning that much easier.
• If you plan on staying at a hotel with a pool, call the hotel before booking to find out what their COVID policy is.  As of spring 2021, some hotels still have their pools entirely closed for COVID.  Others require pool reservations and may be booked for your travel day.  If playing in a pool is part of the fun, find out what their policy is before booking so that no one is disappointed.
• When you head south on I-5, the milepost markers in Washington and Oregon tell you how many miles until the next state.  If you replace those miles with minutes, it can be a quick way to estimate how far away you are from the Oregon or California border.

When we travel up and down I-5, I plan to stop about every 3 hours or so, for bathroom and/or stretch breaks.  These time estimates are rough estimates, as traffic and construction can add to the times.  Below, I'll break out pit stop ideas by these segments:

• Canadian Border - Seattle: 111 miles (about 2 hours)
• Seattle - Portland: 174 miles (about 2 1/2 hours)
• Portland - Grants Pass 245 miles (about 4 hours)
• Grant's Pass - Redding, CA 178 miles (about 3 hours)
• Redding, CA - Walnut Creek, CA  200 miles (about 3 hours)

Here are some ideas for rest stop or activities for road tripping down I-5.  This list is not remotely complete, but it has some favorite ideas for our family.

 

Canadian Border (Exit 276) to Seattle (Exit 169)

• Peace Arch Historical State Park: https://parks.state.wa.us/562/Peace-Arch 
• Birch Bay Waterslides https://www.birchbaywaterslides.net
• Exit 254: Whatcom Falls Park: https://cob.org/services/recreation/parks-trails/parks-guide/whatcom-falls-park
• Exit 252: Sehome Hill Arboretum Observation Tower: https://cob.org/services/recreation/parks-trails/parks-guide/sehome-arboretum
• Exit 252 or 246: Lake Padden Park: https://cob.org/services/recreation/parks-trails/parks-guide/lake-padden-park
• Exit 229: Burlington Outlet Mall: https://theshopsatburlington.com
• Exit 226: Edgewater Park at Mt. Vernon with plaground: https://www.mountvernonwa.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/10
• Exit 199: Hibub Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve https://www.hibulbculturalcenter.org
• Exit 196: Lynnwood Ice Center with ice-skating https://www.lynnwoodicecenter.com
• Exit 189: Boeing Future of Flight Gallery Exhibit (currently open) https://www.boeingfutureofflight.com/visit. Boeing Factory Tour (currently closed because of COVID) https://www.boeingfutureofflight.com/boeing-tour-seattle
• Exit 179: The Nock Point family friendly archery range https://www.thenockpoint.com
• Exit 177: Edmonds/Kingston Ferry.  You can park your car, walk on and back, or drive on to the ferry and then return.  There's also a fun park on the beach for people to run around, tip their toes in the ocean, and climb on driftwood.  https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/vesselwatch/TerminalDetail.aspx?terminalid=8

Around Seattle (Exits 169 - 158)

• Exit 169: Woodland Park Zoo, Greenlake
• Exit 168B: University of Washington canoe and kayak rentals https://www.washington.edu/ima/waterfront/boat-rentals.  University of Washington Arboretum https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/washington-park-arboretum
• Exit 167: Center for Wooden Boats https://www.cwb.org.  The Space Needle https://www.spaceneedle.com. Hiram M. Chittenden Ballard Locks http://www.ballardlocks.org. Museum of Pop Culture https://www.mopop.org
• Exit 165: Seattle Aquarium https://www.seattleaquarium.org
• Exit 158: Kubota Garden https://kubotagarden.org. Museum of Flight https://www.museumofflight.org

Seattle (Exit 158) to Vancouver (Exit 1)

• Exit 154A: Family Fun Center Tukwila https://www.fun-center.com/tukwila
• Exit 142B: Wild Waves Water Park https://www.wildwaves.com. Enchanted Village Theme Park https://www.wildwaves.com/attractions-enchanted-village.php
• Exit 133: Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium https://www.pdza.org
• Exit 127: Northwest Trek https://www.nwtrek.org
• Exit 114: Nisqually Wildlife Refuge Park https://www.fws.gov/refuge/billy_frank_jr_nisqually
• Exit 105: Washington State Capitol https://des.wa.gov/services/facilities-leasing/capitol-campus/tours/things-see-capitol-campus
• Exit 1C: Grant Street Pier in Vancouver, Washington. This is a vantage point to see the bridge over the Columbia River that connects Washington and Oregon. https://thewaterfrontvancouverusa.com/retail/grant-street-pier

Around Portland (Exits 308 to 294)

• Exit 302B: Powell's City of Books https://www.powells.com/locations/powells-city-of-books
• Exit 299A: Goby Aerial Tram (currently closed to the public due to COVID) http://www.gobytram.com

Portland (Exit 294) to Grants Pass (Exit 58)

245 miles (about 4 hours)

Exit 283: Family Fun Center https://www.fun-center.com/wilsonville
Grant's Pass - Redding, CA 178 miles (about 3 hours)
Redding, CA - Walnut Creek, CA  200 miles (about 3 hours)