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The Best Day Trips from Seattle, With the Prices and the Closures Told Honestly

Seattle sits inside one of the best day-trip radiuses in the country and inside a lot of stale advice about it. Mount Rainier costs 30 dollars a car for a week and the Park Service says in writing there is no timed-entry reservation in 2026, but its Sunrise side has been closed to cars since a fire on 13 August. The Johnston Ridge road to Mount St Helens has been shut since 2023. Tillicum Village closed in 2021. Every price below comes from the park or operator's own site, checked in September 2026, and where a figure could not be read it says so instead of guessing.

See day tours from SeattleGuided trips and skip the line tickets
By Oliver13 min readPublished
Table of contents
A gravel trail through pink wildflowers at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park, with the Tatoosh Range behind
Photo: Mount Rainier NPS · Public domain

In Brief

What are the best day trips from Seattle?

Mount Rainier's Paradise side is the one unmissable trip: 30 dollars per vehicle for seven days, children under 16 free on foot, no reservation required anywhere in the park in 2026 by the Park Service's own statement, and 107 miles and about two and a half hours each way on the park's own figure. Bainbridge Island is the easy one, a 35-minute walk-on ferry from downtown at 11.35 dollars return and free for anyone under 19. Snoqualmie Falls is free and half an hour away. Olympic's Hurricane Ridge works but is a long day with no lodge, water or food at the top. Nearly everything else needs a car, and the Park Service states plainly there is no transit to Rainier.

Key takeaways

  • Best overall: Mount Rainier at Paradise, 30 dollars a car, no timed entry in 2026, lots full by late morning at weekends.
  • Best without a car: Bainbridge Island by walk-on ferry, 11.35 dollars return, under-19s free, 35 minutes.
  • Free and close: Snoqualmie Falls, about 30 miles east, open sunrise to sunset all year.
  • Do not plan for 2026: Rainier's Sunrise side, Johnston Ridge at Mount St Helens, and Tillicum Village.

Which day trip from Seattle fits your day

Pick by how much driving you will accept and whether you have a car at all.

If you arePickWhy
Without a carBainbridge IslandWalk on at Colman Dock, 11.35 dollars return, free under 19, 35 minutes each way.
Here for one big landscapeMount Rainier, Paradise30 dollars a car, no reservation in 2026, two and a half hours each way.
Short on timeSnoqualmie FallsFree, about 45 minutes away, open sunrise to sunset all year.
Travelling with children under sixTacoma by trainMuseum of Glass is free under six, and the Sounder or Amtrak does the driving.
Wanting a foreign cityVictoria by Clipper8am out, 7:45pm back, passport required, about 400 dollars return per adult.
Happy to drive all dayNorth CascadesFree entry and Diablo Lake, about three hours each way, summer only.
Day tours from SeattleSkip-the-line tickets & guided trips on Trip.comHotels in SeattleBase yourself well for early startsBuild a full itineraryFree AI day-by-day plan for Seattle

The 12 best day trips, ranked

Ordered by how well they repay a full day - factoring travel time, what you can actually see, and how easy they are without a car.

  1. 107 miles south-east via SR 706, on the Park Service's own figure · About 2 h 30 min by car each way

    Mount Rainier National Park, Paradise

    The one unmissable trip

    The mountain, the meadows and the Skyline Trail from Paradise, which is open year round. The entrance fee is 30 dollars per private vehicle for seven days, 15 dollars per person on foot or by bicycle, and children under 16 need no pass. The Park Service wrote on 25 February 2026 that it will not run a timed-entry reservation for any part of the park this year, so you simply arrive. Its own advice is to arrive before 7am or after 4pm at weekends, because the Paradise lot fills by late morning.

    Getting there
    Drive to the Nisqually entrance and on 19 miles to Paradise. The Park Service publishes no bus, shuttle or transit to the park, so this is a car trip or a tour. Tyre chains must be carried from 1 November to 1 May, and in winter only the Nisqually entrance is open to vehicles.
    Find Mount Rainier National Park, Paradise toursGuided day trips and skip-the-line tickets

  2. Colman Dock, Pier 52, on the downtown waterfront · About 35 min each way by ferry

    Bainbridge Island by Washington State Ferry

    The easy one without a car

    The cleanest car-free day out from the city: the crossing itself, with the skyline behind you, and Winslow's main street a short walk from the terminal. For a car it is 21 dollars and more each way and a summer weekend queue; on foot it is the best value trip on this page.

    Getting there
    Walk on at Colman Dock, eight minutes from Pioneer Square station. Passenger fares are collected at Seattle only, so the 11.35-dollar adult fare is effectively a return; seniors pay 5.65 and anyone 18 and under travels free. Twenty-three departures a day Monday to Friday on the summer timetable, the first at 5:30am. A 3 percent surcharge applies to card payments from 1 March 2026.

  3. About 30 miles east, on the operator's own figure · About 45 min by car

    Snoqualmie Falls

    Free, close and quick

    A 268-foot waterfall with an upper viewpoint a few steps from the car park and a trail to the base, open sunrise to sunset every day of the year with no admission fee. It is a one to two hour stop rather than a day, so pair it with Leavenworth or a lake.

    Getting there
    I-90 east to Snoqualmie. The free lot is across the road from the viewpoint; the lot beside it charges 7 dollars an hour. Neither the falls' site nor Puget Sound Energy, which runs the park, publishes a transit route, so no bus is claimed here.
    Find Snoqualmie Falls toursGuided day trips and skip-the-line tickets

  4. About 117 miles east over Stevens Pass · About 2 h 45 min by car each way

    Leavenworth

    The scenic drive

    A Bavarian-styled mountain village that is free to walk, with nine city car parks that charge from 7am to 3am and one free lot, the Enchantments lot on Highway 2, with a three-hour limit and 48 stalls. Rates are not published on the visitor site. It is five hours of driving for a walkable afternoon, which is fine if the drive is the point.

    Getting there
    US 2 over Stevens Pass. The town's own site gives the drive from Sea-Tac as two and a half hours on one page and two hours on another, and both are recorded rather than averaged. Amtrak's eastbound train arrives in the evening and the westbound leaves at 7:18am, so the train does not work for a day trip.

  5. Port Angeles, then 17 miles up to the ridge, reached by ferry and road · A very long day: ferry plus about 2 h 30 min of driving each way

    Olympic National Park and Hurricane Ridge

    Mountains and the strait in one day

    The entrance fee is 30 dollars per vehicle for seven days, 15 per person, under-16s free. Hurricane Ridge Road is open, but the day lodge burned down in May 2023 and has not been replaced: no potable water, no food, and toilets in trailers. In winter the road opens Friday to Sunday only, 9 to 4, with chains. Go for the view and carry everything.

    Getting there
    Seattle to Bainbridge by ferry then US 101 to Port Angeles, or Edmonds to Kingston. Without a car, the Dungeness Line bus from Sea-Tac to Port Angeles and then the Clallam Transit shuttle to the ridge at 1 dollar, which ran to 7 September 2026 on the transit agency's page and to 1 September on the Park Service's, both readings recorded.
    Find Olympic National Park and Hurricane Ridge toursGuided day trips and skip-the-line tickets

  6. 26 miles to the Mukilteo ferry, or 79 miles by road to the bridge · About 40 min to the ferry, then the island; or 1 h 45 min by road to the bridge

    Whidbey Island and Deception Pass State Park

    Islands, bridges and beaches

    The bridge and the state park beneath it, with beaches and forest trails. A Discover Pass is required to park at any state park: 10 dollars a day or 45 a year, plus transaction fees. Summer hours are 6:30am to dusk. Note that the West Beach lot bars anything over 25 feet after storm damage.

    Getting there
    The classic loop takes the Mukilteo to Clinton ferry out, about 20 minutes and 7.10 dollars for a walk-on, and drives back over the Deception Pass bridge on SR 20. You can walk onto the ferry, but no operator publishes a transit link from Clinton to the park at the island's far end.

  7. Pier 69 on the downtown waterfront to Victoria's Inner Harbour · About 2 h 45 min each way by fast ferry

    Victoria, British Columbia by Victoria Clipper

    A foreign city on foot

    A different country for the day, entirely on foot from downtown. Fares start at 199 dollars one way Tuesday to Thursday and 209 Friday to Sunday, so around 400 dollars return per adult before any child fare, which the terms define for ages 1 to 11 but price only in a brochure. It is a long day: five hours on the water for about five in Victoria.

    Getting there
    Walk to Pier 69. The published timetable departs Seattle at 8am and arrives at 11am, leaving Victoria at 5pm to arrive back at 7:45pm, once a day year round with extra sailings on some summer dates. Board an hour before departure. A passport, passport card or enhanced licence is required; a REAL ID is not valid at the border, and children under 16 need proof of citizenship.

  8. About 24 miles north in Mukilteo · About 40 min by car

    Boeing Future of Flight and the Everett Factory Tour

    Aviation, from age six or so

    The factory tour ticket, 42 to 46 dollars for an adult and 30 to 32 for ages 6 to 15, includes all-day general admission to the gallery. The rule that decides it for families is height: guests must be at least 4 feet, or 122 cm, to take the factory tour, and everyone under 16 needs an adult, so most children under about six or seven see the gallery and not the line.

    Getting there
    I-5 north to Mukilteo. The operator publishes no transit route. The tour is 80 minutes, guided, with no phones, cameras or tablets allowed and free lockers provided.
    Find Boeing Future of Flight and the Everett Factory Tour toursGuided day trips and skip-the-line tickets

  9. About 18 miles north-east · About 35 min by car

    Woodinville wine country

    A slow afternoon of tastings

    Chateau Ste. Michelle's feature flight is 30 dollars, 24 for members, for four reserve wines over about 90 minutes, reservations recommended and open to all ages on the grounds. Tasting rooms sit a drive apart, so the honest cost of the day is the driver or the tour rather than the pours.

    Getting there
    SR 522 to Woodinville. Neither winery read publishes a transit route, and someone has to drive home, so this is a designated-driver day or a paid tour.
    Find Woodinville wine country toursGuided day trips and skip-the-line tickets

  10. About 33 miles south · About 50 min by train or car

    Tacoma: Museum of Glass and Point Defiance

    A rail day trip with children

    The Museum of Glass with its live Hot Shop, 18 dollars adult, 9 for ages 6 to 18, under-sixes free, and the zoo and aquarium at Point Defiance. The catch for 2026 is that the museum's main galleries are closed for construction until December, so you are paying for the Hot Shop and what remains, and the zoo's price could not be read from its own site, which refused every request.

    Getting there
    Sounder S Line from King Street Station, weekdays only, about 59 minutes and 5.25 dollars, or Amtrak Cascades, twelve trains a day including weekends, 50 minutes to Tacoma Dome. Pierce Transit buses are 2 dollars.

  11. About 150 miles south · About 3 h 30 min by car each way

    Mount St. Helens, the west side to Coldwater

    Volcano country, with expectations set

    The state visitor centre at Silver Lake is 5 dollars for adults, 2.50 for ages 7 to 17, free for six and under, or 15 for a family, and the Science and Learning Center at Coldwater gives a view of the mountain. Seven hours of driving for a view that stops short of the crater-facing observatory everyone pictures, which is why it sits this low.

    Getting there
    I-5 south to Castle Rock and SR 504 east. No operator publishes transit. The road is closed at milepost 45.2 since the 2023 slide that destroyed the Spirit Lake Outlet Bridge, so the drive ends at Coldwater.

  12. About 116 miles north-east to Newhalem, 128 to Diablo Lake · About 2 h 45 min to 3 h by car each way

    North Cascades National Park

    Big scenery for no fee

    Diablo Lake's turquoise water from the overlook and the walks around Newhalem, for nothing at the gate. The visitor centre opens 18 May to 27 September 2026, and the highway usually closes for snow in late November and reopens in April, so this is a summer and early-autumn trip.

    Getting there
    I-5 north then SR 20 east. Entry is free: the Park Service charges no fee to enter and no trailhead or parking fee on park land, though adjacent Forest Service trailheads need a pass. There is very little public transport, in the park's own words; Amtrak reaches Mount Vernon and nothing continues.

Seattle to Mount Rainier: the day trip worth planning around

Rainier is the trip every list leads with, and in 2026 the facts are unusually kind: no reservation, a 30-dollar car fee that covers a week, and a park FAQ that prices the drive honestly at 107 miles and two and a half hours. The two things that go wrong are arriving late and going to the wrong side.

  • Fee: 30 dollars per private vehicle for seven days, 25 for a motorcycle, 15 per person on foot or bicycle, 55 for the park annual pass. Children under 16 do not need a pass.
  • Reservations: none. The Park Service's fees page says timed entry is not required anywhere in the park, and its 25 February 2026 release says it will not be implemented for any portion of the park this year.
  • Timing: the Park Service says the Paradise lot is filled by late morning at weekends and advises arriving before 7am or after 4pm.
  • Which side: Paradise is open year round. Sunrise has been closed to vehicles since 13 August 2026 because of the Grand Park 2 Fire, pedestrians and cyclists only from 5 September, and its road closes for the season in early autumn anyway. Treat Sunrise as a 2027 option.
  • Winter: only the Nisqually entrance is open to cars, and chains must be carried from 1 November to 1 May. The Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise runs 19 June to October, 9:30am to 6:30pm.

Day trips from Seattle: FAQ

The questions travelers ask most when planning day trips from here.

Mount Rainier's Paradise side, on the published facts. It is 30 dollars per vehicle for a week, needs no timed-entry reservation anywhere in the park in 2026 by the Park Service's own statement, and the park's FAQ puts the drive at 107 miles and two and a half hours via SR 706. Arrive before 7am or after 4pm at a weekend, because the lots fill by late morning. The Sunrise side is closed to cars for the rest of 2026 after the Grand Park 2 Fire, so for this year Rainier means Paradise.

Bainbridge Island by walk-on ferry, 11.35 dollars return with under-19s free and 35 minutes each way, is the cleanest. Victoria by the Clipper runs 8am out and 7:45pm back, entirely on foot, with a passport. Tacoma is reachable by Sounder on weekdays or Amtrak any day, about 50 minutes. Hurricane Ridge is possible by the Dungeness Line bus and a 1-dollar summer shuttle. Whidbey Island can be reached by walking onto the Mukilteo ferry, but not the state park at its far end. The Park Service publishes no transit to Rainier and says very little of North Cascades is reachable without a car.

No. The Park Service's fees page states that timed-entry reservations are currently not required anywhere in Mount Rainier National Park, and its news release of 25 February 2026 says the park will not implement a timed-entry reservation for any portion of the park in 2026. You pay the 30-dollar vehicle fee at the entrance or show a pass. The constraint is parking, not permission: the Paradise lot is full by late morning at weekends.

For a walk-on passenger, 11.35 dollars for an adult aged 19 to 64, 5.65 for seniors and people with disabilities, and no charge for anyone 18 and under. Fares are collected at Seattle only, so that is the round trip. A car under 14 feet with its driver is 21 dollars and more each way. Washington State Ferries adds a 3 percent surcharge on card payments from 1 March 2026, and the regional transit day pass is not valid on the ferries.

Five that most lists still recommend. The San Juan Islands: 81 miles to Anacortes first, then a crossing, with the last boat back too early for a real day. Portland: the first train arrives at 10:35am and the last leaves at 7:25pm, so it is nearly seven hours of train for a short afternoon. Johnston Ridge at Mount St. Helens: the road has been closed at milepost 45.2 since May 2023 and the state's own two completion dates are fall 2026 and spring 2027. Tillicum Village on Blake Island: closed in December 2021, and the island is boat-in only. Rainier's Sunrise: closed to vehicles by fire since 13 August 2026.

The road is open to the ridge, on the Park Service's alerts page and its road conditions table updated 7 August 2026. What is not there is the day lodge, which burned down on 7 May 2023 and has not been replaced: there is no potable water, no food, and restrooms are in temporary trailers. In winter the road opens Friday to Sunday only, 9am to 4pm, with chains required. The summer shuttle from Port Angeles is 1 dollar on Clallam Transit, which gives a season to 7 September where the Park Service page says 1 September; both are recorded.

Every trip on this page starts in Seattle

Each of these is a day out and back, so the thing that decides the whole trip is where you sleep between them and how far that is from the station. These go into the detail:

Check Seattle hotel pricesLive rates for your dates
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  • Prices on Trip.com

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