Spanaway, WA Road Trips

Tacoma houses several of the most popular museums in the state, including the Museum of Glass and LeMay – America’s Car Museum. Watch the government in action in Olympia. The State Capitol Building, a replica of the original in DC, is surrounded by scenic parks. This was one of the first parts of Washington to be settled by Americans, and many historic buildings remain from that period. Tacoma has created a living museum of Fort Nisqually, originally a Hudson's Bay Company outpost. Steilacoom, the oldest city in the state, has preserved its historic downtown. You may have seen archival video footage of the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which had a famously brief and bumpy existence.

Mount Rainier National Park and the surrounding National Forests are a premier destination for hiking and wilderness backpacking. This part of the state is a great spot for wildlife watching. Visit the popular Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, or tour the Wolf Haven between Tumwater and Tenino and Northwest Trek in Eatonville. Mount Rainier National Park has some of the most accessible alpine environments anywhere. With luck and perseverance, you may even catch a glimpse of the highly-elusive sasquatch, America's most famous cryptid. The South Sound is littered with islands and narrow bays that make great destinations for boating and sea kayaking. Crystal Mountain, past Greenwater on the east side of Mount Rainier, is the largest ski resort in Washington. The Puyallup Indian Reservation operates a tribal casino and event center near Fife. The Washington State Fair, affectionately known as "The Puyallup", occurs every September.

The major highway is Interstate 5 (I-5), running north-south from Tumwater through Olympia, Lacey, Fort Lewis, Tacoma and Fife in the South Sound, on its way from Portland towards Seattle. US Highway 101 (US-101) goes along the east edge of the Olympic Peninsula through Shelton to I-5 in Olympia. State Route 8 (SR-8) comes from Aberdeen and Grays Harbor to meet US-101 a few miles west of Olympia. State Route 16 (SR-16) connects I-5 (exit 132) in Tacoma to Bremerton via the Narrows Bridge, Gig Harbor and Port Orchard. State Route 18 (SR-18) connects exit 142 at I-5 in Federal Way to exit 22 at I-90 west of North Bend. It is a way to connect traffic from the South Sound towards Spokane in Eastern Washington without going through Seattle. It passes through Auburn, Maple Valley, Covington and Issaquah. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, (SEA IATA), is the nearest commercial airport, with connecting flights to all regions of the U.S. and the world, especially with frequent transpacific routes but, also to Europe, Mexico and the Middle East as well. Competition is fierce and fares are low on service to the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California with multiple airlines. Washington State Ferries (WSF) operates the following between Pierce and King Counties in the South Sound: Point Defiance in Tacoma and Tahlequah in the southern tip of Vashon Island. There are no additional ferries from Tacoma to Bremerton, Seattle or anywhere further north. All Washington State ferries are for both vehicles and passengers.

The following branch from I-5 to reach additional areas of the South Sound: State Route 512 (SR 512) goes east towards Puyallup via Parkland from exit 127 of I-5 in Lakewood. It goes around Puyallup and curves north towards Renton as SR-167. State Route 7 (SR-7) goes through South/East Tacoma as Pacific Hwy. It can be accessed from I-5 via Exit 133 or from SR-512 in Parkland (see above). It is the route that connects Tacoma towards Morton at US-12 through Mount Rainier. State Route 167 (SR 167) goes east towards Puyallup along the south shores of the Puyallup River from Tacoma as River Road. It continues north from Puyallup towards Renton through Sumner, Pacific, Auburn, and Kent. State Route 410 (SR-410) branches from SR 167 north of Puyallup, up the hill onto Bonney Lake and to Buckley. From Buckley it curves south and goes by Mt. Rainier at Sunrise before heading east across Chinook Pass towards Yakima. During winter, the section of SR-410 closes at Crystal Mountain due to snow. Traffic congestion is a major problem in the Puget Sound area on all freeways and major roads. Avoid traveling during rush hour if you can, particularly along I-5. The area's roads are more or less on a grid system, numbered based on their distance from Tacoma's city center. Nearly all streets run with the compass directions. "A" St, one block east of Pacific Ave (SR-7), divides east from south while Orchard St divides south from west. 6th Ave and Division Ave divide north from south. The numbered roads run east-west, parallel to 6th Avenue, while the named roads run north-south.