Coeur D’alene Idaho - Ft. Lewis Washington

icechex

Well-known member
Just wondering if there's a 'best way' to make this trip. Not interested in long mountain grades unless I have to. Any help/insight/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 

2psnapod1

Texas-South Chapter Leader-Retired
I think your best route would be on 90. FYI - Ft. Lewis now called Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM). Good luck and safe travels!
 

icechex

Well-known member
I-90 (does) appear to be the way to go. Have you ever traveled this route pulling a rig? I've been told it's a tough haul. Thanks for the update on Ft. Lewis.
 

Manzan

Well-known member
Icechex, the only tough part is dealing with the traffic. Avoid Snoqualmie pass Sunday afternoon unless you like miles of stop and go traffic. Only 3500' in elevation with a short steep pitch on the east side and a long down hill stretch on the west until your reach North Bend. You can take Highway 18 between I-90 and I-5 but it is narrow (widening it now) and not real safe to travel. Better to take 90 to Bellevue/Factoria and 405 then South until it meets I-5. Avoid commute times if you can. All are heavily traveled but pretty good roads. We travel over Snoqualmie pass quite often and travel about the same speed as the trucks. It is the lowest pass crossing the Cascade Mountains so heavily traveled but the widest and easiest roadway. Just before you reach George, WA, most of the fields are labeled with what they are growing. Fun to guess what the crops are before you see the signs. Wish other growers would do the same. Go to Iowa every couple of years and there are lots of different crops being grown on the way and they change just about every year.
 

Crumgater

Well-known member
The hills on I-90 are all doable - with a few long pulls - some with rest stops at the top (there is one on top of the 7 mile steep grade coming off the Columbia River Gorge at Vantage, WA).

If you want to avoid the hills, head across I-90 past Spokane, then take 395 down to Pasco/Kennewick, then South on I-82 to Hermiston, OR. Turn right just across the river in Oregon and follow the Columbia River downhill to Portland, OR on I-84 (on the Oregon side). Then back up I-5 to the JBLM/base. It will be a few hours longer, but much lower hills. All but 395 should be 4-lane. It's been a long time since I've been on 395... it might be 4-lane by now, too, but that will proabably be the worst part of the trip - two-lane across the rolling hills of the Palouse wheat fields. The "scenic" route...

And you'll still want to avoid traveling on Sunday afternoon... I-5 between Portland and Seattle can get very, very slow... the rest should be a breeze.

And... Oregon doesn't let you pump your own gas. But, there are lots of truck stops on I-84.
 

icechex

Well-known member
Manzan

Thanks! Great information - that I plan on using. We are traveling on a Friday so we won't have to worry about that pass, but thanks for pointing it out. We (wife and I) look forward to guessing the crops.

Thanks again,
 

icechex

Well-known member
Crumgater - thanks a lot for the 'alternate route,' but since you said (& manzan) that the hills on I-90 are doable I think we'll take the I-90 route. I will keep the other route in my notes. Both you (& manzan) said to avoid Sunday travel so it must really be bad. Glad I'm not going thru there on Sunday. I pull my rig with a 2004 Dodge Diesel Dually 3500 and it's managed the mountains/hills between Oklahoma (via NM, Colo, Wy) and here (Great Falls, Mt) without a problem - but I'd been told by a guy (here in Great Falls) that the drive (from Coeur D'alene - Ft. Lewis) was a tough one with many long, steep grades. Evidently he must of been thinking of somewhere else.

many thanks
 
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