Bellingham, WA to Spokane, WA route help needed

dsatwork

We'll be leaving Bellingham area on a Friday morning or mid morning and heading to Riverside Sate Park. Should we go through the mountains on the highway 2 or take the 5 to the 405 to the 90. The latter will skirt us around downtown Seattle and right through Bellevue and should be about 30 minutes faster, but does that really take in consideration traffic on a Friday? If we go through the mountains are we likely to get caught in constructions with lanes narrowing or traffic stopping altogether? @Sandiegogal

BirdieJane

We have done both, we enjoy Hwy 2, it is a bit steeper. Traffic should be better as well. Barring road projects. Check DOT website 

dsatwork

BirdieJane said:

We have done both, we enjoy Hwy 2, it is a bit steeper. Traffic should be better as well. Barring road projects. Check DOT website 

Thanks, I love the mountain driving @Sandiegogal not so much

MuttonChops

I drove US-2 eastbound last week (towing my T@B to avoid the I-90 fire at Vantage) and there was no construction.  WSDOT also shows no construction.

I live off I-405 and you should add time to your schedule for that route.  Southbound I-405 is normally slow between I-5 exit and Bothell and in Bellevue, while I-405 is normally stop & go in the Kirkland area.  That applies to nearly all times of daylight and all days of week.  While any minor event can cause stop & go conditions are various locations.

Of course if you arrive here during morning rush hour (7AM-10AM)  the full 22'ish miles will be stop & go.

I find the I-90 pass a bit stressful but not as stressful as two-lane US-2.  It's nice to have everyone going the same direction.  Get in the right lane and stay put (OK to pass the real slow pocks) and same for I-405 . . . relax and go with the flow, traffic speeds below 60MPH and above stop & go may increase your overall MPG.

BirdieJane

Now my wife says she would do I5 to 405, to 90. I guess you are back where you started. We are in Blaine.

Haloo

I'd take 20.

dsatwork

Haloo said:

I'd take 20.

That's interesting, our kids live right off the 20. What makes that a good alternative? The 20 to the 174 is only six hours and 15 minutes and a shorter distance. @Sandiegogal

IslandJo

I'd take 20 too and spend the night somewhere along the way just for the fun of it.

MuttonChops

dsatwork said:

Haloo said:

I'd take 20.

That's interesting, our kids live right off the 20. What makes that a good alternative? The 20 to the 174 is only six hours and 15 minutes and a shorter distance.

  What? Have we (you) changed the discussion . . . didn't this start with getting to Spokane ??

MuttonChops

Comparing (off-topic) WA-20 or US-2 to Central Washington

Is the goal an easy drive or a great views drive ?

Believe US-2 is the winner for easy drive and better MPG,

and if one is off to visit grandkids that can win out over great views.

Haloo

dsatwork said:

Haloo said:

I'd take 20.

That's interesting, our kids live right off the 20. What makes that a good alternative? The 20 to the 174 is only six hours and 15 minutes and a shorter distance. @Sandiegogal

Well, I hate I-5.  Especially in the summer.  And extra especially on a Friday or a Sunday afternoon or evening.  So I avoid it when possible.

Steep doesn’t bother me with the 400. I’d rather deal with steep than with texting, anxious, in a hurry to get out of towners.  Highway 2 has a bunch of small towns and traffic lights.  405 to 90?  Not on a Friday.  Everyone has towing situations they’d sooner avoid.  Heavy traffic is mine.

If you leave early on a Friday morning 20 can be very nice.  You want to get out early though to avoid the motorcycle groups, RV caravans, and overlook rubberneckers.

I’d exit I-5 at Cook Rd to avoid Burlington, then hook up with 20 at Sedro Wooley.  Then enjoy the ride.  Maybe stop at the Rocking Horse Bakery in Winthrop, or the Cinnamon Twisp Bakery in Twisp for a snack and espresso.  Head on down to Pateros then over to Coulee City to pick up 2.

dsatwork

Wow some great stuff here, I'll reply tomorrow when I'm not trying to type on my phone.

Homebodyatheart

@dsatwork keep a very close eye on any fires between Bellingham and Spokane. Eastern Washington now has an open fire burn ban going. It’s bone dry in many places, add the winds and it can get bad quickly. FWIW Hwy 2 is stunning! We live in such an amazing state! If you can make it a two day trip you can see some amazing places. I’m sorry I’ll be missing you both! What site number at Riverside State Park? Bowl and Pitcher?  Safe travels!

ericnliz

@dsatwork, Send me a PM & I'll give you my phone # to meet up. Hiway 2 is a great drive, but can be a bit slow at times. Great scenery, and you can get to Riverside State Park really easy going that way.
Ha, a little fun for 'ya.....as long as yer NOT following @Homebodyatheart, it should be a nice drive. I think I FINALLY convinced her it was ok to use cruise control on the flat straight parts of the hiway. She just about drove me crazy one day with her 10-20 mph differences on a straightaway! Good thing we're friends!

Sandiegogal

MuttonChops said:

Comparing (off-topic) WA-20 or US-2 to Central Washington

Is the goal an easy drive or a great views drive ?

Believe US-2 is the winner for easy drive and better MPG,

and if one is off to visit grandkids that can win out over great views.

This is great information and much appreciated!  

Sandiegogal

@Haloo...this is great advice and seems to be the route of choice at the moment.  We'll be camping at Larrabee so the 20 (which goes right by our daughter and SIL's house) is right there.  It seems like the trip is only 1/2 hours longer but we will definitely keep an eye on WWDOT to make sure there aren't any fires or road closures before we leave on the 27th. Thanks for that idea @Homebodyatheart & @BirdieJane .   My daughter told me this am that her MIL uses the 20 to go to their yearly vacation spot, so we'll be chatting with her too.  Unfortunately, we're on a quick trip to Spokane to see some T@Bbers and old friends who live in Coeur d'Alene, so we won't have too much time to sightsee...looking forward to the time we retire and aren't tethered to our jobs!

dsatwork

@MuttonChops thats a great tool for comparing the elevation gain, can you share the link?

MuttonChops

dsatwork said:

that is a great tool for comparing the elevation gain, can you share the link?

Elevation for a route

https://www.doogal.co.uk/RouteElevation.php 

web-site takes a minute or two to generate the elevations and then displays them on a bar chart below the map for real time viewing.

You can also download a .csv data file.  That is what I do so two or three routes can be compared on one spreadsheet  chart.

I'm still learning how to best use/understand all the other data the program generates.

= = = = =

There is a second web-site called  Flattest Route but so far all it ever seems to do is plot the standard google maps shortest route with the addition of an elevation chart.

https://www.flattestroute.com/ 

= = = = =

Both above programs are intended for bike riders but each includes a car option.

So far I've not found any other free elevation programs . . . the really nice ones are for Truck drivers but are part of expensive 'for business' programs.

dsatwork

MuttonChops said:

dsatwork said:

that is a great tool for comparing the elevation gain, can you share the link?

Elevation for a route

https://www.doogal.co.uk/RouteElevation.php 

web-site takes a minute or two to generate the elevations and then displays them on a bar chart below the map for real time viewing.

You can also download a .csv data file.  That is what I do so two or three routes can be compared on one spreadsheet  chart.

I'm still learning how to best use/understand all the other data the program generates.

= = = = =

There is a second web-site called  Flattest Route but so far all it ever seems to do is plot the standard google maps shortest route with the addition of an elevation chart.

https://www.flattestroute.com/ 

= = = = =

Both above programs are intended for bike riders but each includes a car option.

So far I've not found any other free elevation programs . . . the really nice ones are for Truck drivers but are part of expensive 'for business' programs.

Thank you, this is great stuff and should be posted as a topic,if it's not. @verna

broderius

If you do I-90 leave at 4am or so and bypass the big traffic. But I prefer the highway 2 route, its beautiful and perfect for a quick stop stretching your legs.  Lets hope you are ready for the heat this weekend here in Spokane. Enjoy the Eastside. 

dsatwork

Thanks for the help but this was posted a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to take the 20 but Waze had it 30 minutes longer, so we headed to highway 2, but Waze said 90 was 30 minutes faster.  So we decided to give it a try. We lost most of advantage when a couple of cars got tangled up on the back side of the pass.

broderius

Lol, I didn't even see the dates. Oops. Hopefully you had a great trip in Spokane once you got to town. Sorry to hear about the cars. 

N7SHG_Ham

Just an educated guess, but my money says the OP lives in CA? How do I know? Referring to highways as "the" xxxxxx, LOL

dsatwork

Not sure who the op is but we live in san Diego and call everything the 5, the 405, the 8, the 805, the the 395, the 78, the 67 and so on and so on and so on and so on and so on and so on and so on and so on and so on and so on.

dsatwork

  

N7SHG_Ham

Yep, it is a CA thing only in my experience