6 Days in Seattle Plus Epic Day Trips
Six days adds the one trip in this whole family that genuinely needs a night away: the San Juan Islands. This is our 5-day plan with the same first five days, plus an overnight ferry trip that ends this itinerary on the island rather than back in Seattle. Only have five days, drop this last leg; have a seventh, see the 7-day version that adds the return trip properly.
Book these before you go:
- Mount Rainier day tour on GetYourGuide
- Olympic National Park day tour on Viator
- A Leavenworth wine tasting tour on Viator
- Seattle hotels on Booking.com for the first five nights
- A San Juan Islands vehicle reservation via wsdot.wa.gov/ferries , summer sailings sell out for cars well before walk-on space does
Day 1: Mount Rainier National Park
Leave by 7am. I-5 to WA-512 to WA-7 to WA-706, about 107 miles and 2-2.5 hours each way to Paradise. Entry is $30 per vehicle for a 7-day pass; Mount Rainier is not running timed-entry reservations in 2026, but the Paradise lot still fills by roughly 10am on summer weekends regardless. Walk the subalpine meadows, stop at Christine Falls and Reflection Lakes, and pack a picnic. Prefer not to drive? The guided tour above covers the whole day.
Alerts and hours: nps.gov/mora .
Day 2: Bainbridge Island and Snoqualmie Falls
An early Washington State Ferries sailing from downtown Seattle’s waterfront terminal reaches Bainbridge Island in 35 minutes, no car needed, $11.35 westbound and free on the return. Wander Winslow, then head back to Seattle by early afternoon. Drive 40 minutes east on I-90 to Snoqualmie Falls, a free 268-foot waterfall with an observation deck (the Salish Lodge & Spa above it is the Twin Peaks filming location). Thirty to sixty minutes is enough before heading back for dinner.
Sailing times: wsdot.wa.gov/ferries .
Day 3: Leavenworth
A genuine 4-5 hour round trip on driving alone, 2-2.5 hours each way on US-2 (about 117 miles). Leavenworth’s Bavarian look is a deliberate 1960s economic rebrand after a rail-line rerouting collapsed the town’s original timber economy, not organic German settlement history, worth knowing before you buy into the theme too hard. The Nutcracker Museum, the shops, and the wine tasting tour above make the long drive worthwhile.
Day 4: Boeing Future of Flight, Everett
A lighter day: 30-40 minutes’ drive north to Mukilteo, no 7am start required. 2026 pricing runs gallery-only general admission at $14 adult ($7 youth, $12 senior/military), and the full guided factory tour, which includes general admission, at $42-46 adult ($30-32 youth, $36-37 senior/military). The 80-minute tour overlooks active 777/777X and 767 final-assembly lines, the only public tour of an active US commercial-aircraft assembly line anywhere. It’s open seven days a week since early 2026; book ahead since slots do sell out on weekends.
Day 5: Olympic National Park
The longest single day so far. Reaching Hurricane Ridge means a Washington State Ferries crossing, a drive to Port Angeles, then another 45 minutes up, commonly 3-4 hours one-way. A guided tour ($188-350+ per person, 12 hours) bundling the ferry, Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent, Marymere Falls, and a Strait of Juan de Fuca beach stop is the realistic way to do this without an exhausting solo drive.
Current conditions: nps.gov/olym .
Day 6: San Juan Islands (the overnight)
Drive about 1.5 hours north to Anacortes, then catch the Washington State Ferries crossing to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Adult walk-on fare runs up to $15.85 westbound, with nothing charged on the return; if you’re bringing a car, reserve it well ahead for summer sailings. Spend the afternoon on the island, kayaking or whale-watching are the two things worth booking ahead, then stay the night in Friday Harbor. Because this itinerary ends here, plan your departure from the islands directly, whether that’s flying out via a regional connection or an early ferry back toward SEA, rather than routing back through Seattle for one more full day.
Is the San Juan Islands worth two days out of a six-day trip?
Yes, and this itinerary spends only one of those two days getting there and settling in, not two full days of transit. Doing the San Juans as a rushed single day means more time in the car and on the ferry than on an actual island. An overnight fixes that trade entirely, and it’s the one trip in this whole family that’s genuinely better slower.
Do you need a car for this itinerary?
Yes, for Days 1, 3, 4, and the drive to Anacortes on Day 6. Day 2’s ferry is walk-on only, Day 5 is easier with a guided tour, and once you’re actually on San Juan Island a car is optional, most of Friday Harbor’s food and shops are walkable from the ferry landing.
| Day | Focus | Distance / travel time from Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Rainier National Park | ~2-2.5 hrs drive (~107 mi) |
| 2 | Bainbridge Island + Snoqualmie Falls | 35-min ferry; ~40 min drive |
| 3 | Leavenworth | ~2-2.5 hrs drive (~117 mi) |
| 4 | Boeing Future of Flight, Everett | ~30-40 min drive |
| 5 | Olympic National Park (Hurricane Ridge) | ~3-4 hrs one-way (ferry + drive) |
| 6 | San Juan Islands (overnight) | ~1.5 hrs drive to Anacortes, then ferry |
Reserve the San Juan ferry crossing for a car well before the rest of this trip; it sells out faster than any hotel or tour on this list.