Issaquah, WA Road Trips

Olde Town, centered along Front Street, is historic downtown Issaquah. It is known for its mixture of art galleries, shops, unique restaurants and taverns, theaters, historical sites and museums, some dating back to the 1930s or earlier. It's where much of the festivities of Issaquah Salmon Days occur. 1 Gilman Town Hall Museum, 165 SE Andrews St, ☏ +1 425 392-3500. From the Gilman Town Hall Museum Website- "This exhibit tells the story of Issaquah's past through hundreds of photographs and artifacts and a variety of interactive elements. Come see one of Issaquah's original water pipes, a rare Native American fur trade knife, and graffiti hidden for 75 years inside the walls of the fish hatchery. Set off an imaginary charge with an authentic dynamite blaster, ring a logging camp bell or listen to the music of the Squak Valley Hot Shots." $2 for adults, $1 for children, $5 per family of 3+ $10 family pass gives all-day access to both museums. Friends of the Issaquah History Museums visit for free. 2 Issaquah Depot Museum, 150 First Avenue NE, ☏ +1 425 392-3500. 3 Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, 125 W. Sunset Way (take I-90 East to Front Street exit; make a right turn onto Front Street, (after you turn onto Front Street, move into the center lane, otherwise you will be forced to turn onto Gilman Blvd); stay on Front Street for approximately 0.6 miles to West Sunset Way and make a right-hand turn onto Sunset Way; the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery is on your left-hand side). 8AM - 4PM. It tells the story of salmon. Free.

Salmon Days. Held the first weekend of October, this large festival celebrates the return of the salmon up Issaquah Creek to the hatchery. Vendors, music and parades, in addition to viewing the salmon. 1 Lake Sammamish State Park, (main entrance) 2000 NW Sammamish State Park (from I-90: drive east to exit #15, and follow the signs), ☏ +1 425 455-7010. Summer: 6:30AM to dusk. Winter: 6:30AM to dusk for the main park and boat launch.. Lake Sammamish State Park is a 512-acre day-use park with 6,858 feet of waterfront on Lake Sammamish. The area around the lake was an important culture zone for local Native American tribes for centuries. The park provides deciduous forest and wetland vegetation for the enjoyment of visitors. A salmon-bearing creek and a great-blue-heron rookery are additional features.The park includes diverse natural wetlands, a large great blue heron rookery and the salmon-bearing Issaquah Creek. The park has one of the largest freshwater beaches in the greater Seattle area. Discover Pass required for vehicles. Pedestrians Free. 2 Village Theatre, 303 Front St N. Producing entertaining, quality productions since 1979, Village Theatre has grown into one of the region’s best-attended venues for musical theatre. (updated Feb 2025) The Issaquah Alps consist of nearby Cougar, Squak and Tiger Mountains. Each mountain hosts a network of trails for all fitness levels. They are popular for having some of the closest hiking to Seattle, having the closest strenuous hikes to Seattle, and for staying below the snow level for most of the winter.

1 Formula Brewing, 1875 NW Poplar Way (from I-90, take exit 15, turn south on 17th Ave NW, then right onto NW Gilman Blvd past Burger King, then next right onto 18th Ave NW, follow around past the dealership, last storefront on the end of strip mall), ☏ +1 425-961-0854, [email protected]. noon-9PM. Local microbrewery with pizza kitchen and large outdoor space. The roomy, modern atmosphere of this Issaquah brewery combines artisan pizza varieties with equally high quality beers for diverse palates, from citrus-forward IPAs, to lagers from Latin to German styles, to write-home-about stouts, sours, and fruit beers. A friendly, casual sports and outdoorsy vibe coupled with good food, beer, and even a few mixed drinks. (updated Dec 2021)

1 Hilton Garden Inn, 1800 NW Gilman Blvd, ☏ +1 425 837-3600. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. 2 Motel 6 Seattle East - Issaquah, 1885 15th Place NW, ☏ +1 425 392-8405, fax: +1 425 557-6465. Dogs are permitted.

From Interstate 90 (I-90), take exit 15 (17th Ave NW) or exit 17 (Front Street). From State Route 18, take Issaquah Hobart Road south of Tiger Mountain, which becomes Front St. State Route 900 leaves Renton as Sunset Blvd NE, becomes Renton-Issaquah Road, then 17th Ave NW at the junction with I-5. East Lake Sammamish Pkwy goes 12 mi (19 km) along the east side of Lake Sammamish from Front St & I-90 () at Exit #17, to its intersection with SR-202 just east of downtown Redmond. West Lake Sammamish Pkwy goes 10 mi (16 km) along the west side of Lake Sammamish to Exit #13 of I-90 (Lakewood Blvd) just west of Issaquah. Intercity bus services operating beyond the region mostly stop in Seattle. Wenatchee Valley Shuttle (Flixbus), (bus stop)Shell Station @ 3670 150th Ave SE, Bellevue (West of Eastgate Plaza at 150th Ave SE & SE 38th St), ☏ +1 509 293-5773. They operate several daily departures to Wenatchee and Peshastin in Eastern Washington from Sea-Tac and Bellevue. From Wenatchee they continue east towards Spokane Airport via Ephrata, Quincy, Moses Lake and Ritzville. They also have another local stop at the North Bend Premium Outlets in North Bend, at the clock tower. No scheduled stops in Issaquah. Check with them regarding local door to door pick-up or drop-off. $62.50 one-way, $125 roundtrip Seattle to Wenatchee. (updated Jan 2018) Bike lanes run east-west along W Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE (north of I-90, preferred) and Newport Way NW (south of I-90).

The main east-west roads are Gilman Blvd and Newport Way. Front Street runs north-south through downtown. Issaquah is best accessed by car, although bicycling is a viable option. Downtown Issaquah is easy to explore on foot. Additionally, there a network of hiking and walking trails which extend through the Gilman Blvd shopping district to Lake Sammamish State Park. It is possible to walk from Issaquah to Redmond on this trail network. The transportation hub (bus station) in Issaquah is the 1 Issaquah Transit Center on NW Maple St & 17th Ave NW. The Issaquah TC offers routes with service to Downtown Seattle (214, 554); UW in the U-District (271,556); Bellevue (214,271,556); Redmond (269,554); North Bend via Snoqualmie (208); and other surrounding cities (208,269,271,545,556). King County Metro, ☏ +1 206-553-3000. Runs bus, streetcar and monorail routes within King County. Serves Auburn, Bellevue, Bothell, Burien, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Mercer Island, North Bend, Redmond, Renton, SeaTac, Seattle, Shoreline, Tukwila, Vashon Island, White Center, and Woodinville. $3 for 2 hours ($1 seniors 65+, Free youth 0-18). (updated Sep 2025) Sound Transit, toll-free: +1-888-889-6368. Runs express and intercity public transit routes across the Seattle area, including Sounder trains, Link light rail and express buses (routes 510-596). Serves King County (e.g. Bellevue, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, Seattle), Snohomish County (e.g. Everett, Lynnwood), and Pierce County (e.g. Puyallup, Tacoma).