Seattle Travel Answers

mapquest is pretty good , and dont know the 101 out to Forks, but past Olympia on the I5 is ok, unless its rush hour work traffic, time it past 10am or past 7Pm and you will be fine passing Olympia to Sea-Tac, the worse would some traffic around Olympia but not major the rest depends on how well you are use to driving, I am at ease on the wheels in all major cities. hope it helps

US 101 south of Forks is very scenic so, if your goal is not the quickest route but to actually see some scenery, then that would be the best route to take. It also depends on which route you're taking in and whether or not you'd want to backtrack. I-5 between Tacoma and Seattle is the real traffic problem, but only at peak hours. Nothing along the route could really be considered "city driving" though, even in Tacoma. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge also has a toll on the eastbound (from Bremerton/Gig Harbor) side of6 if that makes a difference for you.

We've done the 101 route south out of Forks and would highly recommend it for the stretch along the coast: beautiful! If at all possible, allow yourself some time to stop at some of the overlook and beaches along the way. Lake Quinault is also very pretty. We also stopped in Olympia for a few hours: really nice smallish city and well worth the time if you have it; we wish we'd have had more there.

Good info! We will be leaving Forks and driving to Sea-Tac to catch an afternoon flight on Sunday. Mapquest and google maps both directed me north and I wasn't sure if there was another route going south. Doesn't appear to be many roads through the Olympic National Forest.

Thank you, that is great advice! We are going to Forks from Port Angeles, so we will have seen 101 West from there. It's good to know the south/east drive from Forks would be scenic. We'll plan to get an early start so we have time for sightseeing.

Yes, we came across the sound to Port Townsend and Port Angeles, and to Forks from there on the first end of our trip. That coastal stretch south along the coast isn't incredibly long but Ruby Beach (fantastic), beaches 1-4 and the one at Kalaloch are all along those miles, and you'll run into Lake Quinault some miles after swinging inland. I think it's well worth the drive - even if high tides keep you some distance off the beaches. Take a look at the park map for what's along your route: http://www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm# The link to the map ('view park map') is in a white box on the lower left side of the page, and the map is zoomable.

Excellent - thanks for the recommendation and link to map. I also enjoyed checking out the travel adventures of "Goodfish". Great tips and pictures.

The issue really is what area is likely to be congested. The route going north on 101 and then west to Port Angeles and Port Townsend works, but you must understand that you have to cross Puget Sound on a ferry, or take a long round about way through Tacoma if you want to use a bridge. The Mukilteo, Bremerton or Bainbridge Island ferry works, but if you are coming back on a Sunday afternoon on a warm weekend the wait to get on one of those ferries may be two hours or more. There is a sign posted on the Hood Canal Bridge giving the wait times as you cross that bridge, so that you can decide how long you want to wait. Also, as some of the ferry routes don't run very often it can be a fairly long wait even if there isn't a line, if you don't hit the schedule just right. Goodfish's idea of taking the Port Townsend ferry could work, but then you face another ferry crossing at the south end of Whidbey Island. Then, you have to go all the way through Seattle (and traffic can be a real pain) as the Sea-Tac airport is several cities south of Seattle itself. Anytime on any day the afternoon traffic can be a real pain going through Seattle (even if it is a weekend when everyone is out of town there are still major traffic tie-up getting all the way through town). If you decide on the route around the north side of the Olympic peninsula, it may be better to go all the way south on highway 3 to the Bremerton area, and then 16 and 160 over to the Southworth Ferry. This at least gets you to the south side of Seattle. If you hit Bremerton about the time that a ferry to Seattle is arriving you might at least swing by the Bremerton ferry terminal to see if there is space for you or how long the wait is. The Bremerton - Seattle ferry is a 1 hour trip, and sometimes only runs every 90 minutes. The road from Fauntleroy south to the airport is a slow local road but it is generally not congested between the ferry terminal and the airport. Therefore, in many ways I think you would be much better off taking the Olympia Route. US 12 to highway 8 to Olympia is essentially a freeway once you get through Central Park. Olympia to Tacoma can be congested, but even during heavy traffic usually only takes an hour or so. In good traffic it is half an hour. The freeway usually moves along pretty well from Tacoma until you get to about Midway, and by then if it is really bad you can cut over to highway 99 and get to the airport that way. It is slower than freeway speeds as it is a local road, but it moves better than I-5 if it is stopped. Also, if you have more than one person in the car, you can use the carpool / bus lane on the freeway. Highway 101 from Forks to Aberdeen can be a slow road, as it is two lanes and is open to whatever the weather throws at it from the Ocean, plus whatever happens to get into your way. However, it is at least a solid land route all the way to the airport going that direction, as opposed to the various ferry routes. In any event, you should probably get a ferry schedule if you plan to go on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula. I don't know how the various mapping programs deal with the ferries and estimating the travel time over the water, but if you hit them wrong at a time in the afternoon when everyone else is trying to get back to Seattle it can be a very long wait, and even if you don't it is best to know the schedules so you know which one you are aiming for at a particular time of day.

Currently, there are no concerns on the freeways. There are no consructions right now that I know of.

>Goodfish's idea of taking the Port Townsend ferry could work To clarify, I meant that we came DOWN to Forks via the same route as the OP - not that they should go BACK that way. We took the ferry from Seattle and drove to PT, PA, Lake Crescent, the Hoh, Forks, etc, and left the peninsula on 101 going south through Kalaloch, 12/8 through Olympia, freeway (5) through Tacoma to SeaTac. Thanks for the nice words, Beachcomber! :O)

More great comments - I truly appreciate you sharing your experience & knowledge! I am planning to go with the south 101 route. It is a long drive and the concern is making it to the airport on time. We are actually flying out on Friday (not Sunday) so rush hour may be a concern, need to be at airport by 3:00.

Rush hour starts around 3. You'll be driving in a little before 1. It shouldn't be a concern.

Google has the driving time down as 4 hours from Forks to SeaTac using the route through Aberdeen (you use Add Destination to force it to make a specific route, or drag the route). The other was is 3.5 hours, but they don't route you over the ferry. Instead they route you from Sequim to Bremerton and then south to Tacoma over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. They say it is also 3.5 hours using the Bainbridge Island ferry, but they don't seem to actually include the time waiting and taking the ferry as part of their total time.

I agree with boxcima. Avoid the traffic in Seattle! I-5 becomes a parking lot! Make sure to get out from Forks early! And head to Seattle early. Also, there's heavy traffic at lunch time.