Roadtrip from Salt Lake City to Seattle: the best route and tips!

A road trip through the United States for repeaters, that was the idea I had over a year ago when I decided I wanted to go back to America from Europe, where I live. Combining beautiful, well-known touris locations with places where relatively few European tourists travel. A route that you may not have in mind at first, but can be so amazing because you had not previously thought about the fact that this is also a possibility. A few months later, the decision was made: it would be a road trip from Salt Lake City to Seattle.

Earlier this year, the time had come and my trip I had been planning for more than a year started. And what a trip it was! Via Instagram, where I posted daily updates, the reactions were super enthusiastic. Both about the well-known and unknown places. In this article I will tell you everything about the complete route from Salt Lake City to Seattle, an unforgettable road trip in America!

_{This article contains sponsored parts. An explanation can be found at the bottom of the article.}

This has become quite a long article, as 22 days of road tripping is quite a distance (almost 6.000 km to be precise). I will start below with the day-to-day description plus the locations where we stayed overnight. Detailed blogs per destination (for example about hiking trails, national parks, etc.) will appear in separate articles or can be found below if they have previously appeared here. If you are looking for more information about a specific part of the trip, use the table of contents above to quickly navigate to the part you are looking for.

At the end of the article I will give you more information about the best travel period, where you can book this trip and more useful tips.

Enjoy reading!

With Delta Air Lines we fly from Amsterdam directly to Salt Lake City in about 10 hours. The choice for Delta was quickly made: they fly directly to both Salt Lake City and Seattle. And since it’s a given fact that the fewer flights, the more sustainable your trip is, this was an excellent choice. Upon arrival, we were able to go through customs very quickly. Since only a few Europeans fly to Salt Lake City, there were mainly Americans on board, so there was almost no queue at immigration. Not much later we picked up our rental car at Alamo and drove downtown Salt Lake City.

To extend our desire for sleep a little longer, we took a short walk through the city and had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, after which we crashed (I was awake for almost 24 hours). Tomorrow is another day.

Overnight: Le Meridien Salt Lake City

Further reading:
– Review of my flight with Delta Air Lines

Because of the jetlag we’re of course awake very early. We decide to do some grocery shopping for the coming days at Walmart and then drive towards the Bonneville Salt Flats. The landscape along the way is empty, desolate and impressive. The road goes on straight for miles and I feel like we are driving through nowhere. After a stop at the salt flats we continue to Wendover, where we take a short walk of an hour to Wendover Viewpoint. Because of the wide view you can see the curvature of the earth here, in clear weather.

In the afternoon we head back to Salt Lake City where we do a Whiskey and History tour and then walk, somewhat wobbly after all those delicious whiskies, to Temple Square. Salt Lake City is the city of the Mormons which can be seen at the various buildings of the Latter Day Saints, as the Mormons are officially called. The temple itself is unfortunately under construction, but the other buildings are definitely impressive as well.

Overnight: Le Meridien Salt Lake City

We wake up in the pouring rain and of course much too early. After a quick visit to the gym with a view, we pack our bags and check out. After breakfast at the famous diner Denny’s we drive to Antelope Island, the largest island in The Great Salt Lake. Although the name suggests otherwise, the island is mainly known for the bison that live there. Are we going to see them? The lady at the entrance doesn’t know, she hasn’t heard that bison have actually been spotted today so far.

Half an hour later we see the first bison, there are not just ten but some hundred. In the distance we also see antelopes and … an enormous dark sky that’s quickly moving in our direction. Unfortunately we don’t have time to go for a hike, because the rest of the day is dedicated to a mega long drive to … Yellowstone National Park.

It’s pouring with rain along the way and other than shopping (bear spray!) and driving we don’t do anything else. The low-budget (as far as possible in Yellowstone) hotel we chose in West Yellowstone is unusual but good enough for the next three nights.

Overnight: Yellowstone Country Inn

After it rained all day yesterday, we hope for better weather today. Although it’s cloudy, we will definitely get what we asked for. Today we decide to drive the upper loop of the figure 8 in which Yellowstone is formed. The most beautiful stops of the day include the Paint Pots, Norris Geyser Basin and Mammoth Hot Springs. Once in Mammoth, it starts raining again. On the highest pass of the park, Dunraven Pass at 2.700 meters, we even drive through the snow for a brief moment.

We spend the afternoon in Lamar Valley spotting wildlife. We mainly see bison and some elk (deer). As it’s still a long trip back to West Yellowstone from here and I don’t want to drive the entire drive in the dark, we leave Lamar Valley around dinner time and head back to West Yellowstone, where we arrive in the pitch dark anyway.

Overnight: Yellowstone Country Inn

Another day in Yellowstone! The most famous places in Yellowstone are on the southern loop and that’s the one we plan to do today. And … the sun is shining! We drive into Yellowstone before sunrise and soon we have a bison right next to the car. A just a little further on a coyote. WOW! Not much later we arrive at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It is almost bizarre how many hiking trails and viewpoints there are and after the third point we realize that we cannot do everything and have to make choices if we want to continue today.

We continue our trip along the shores of Yellowstone Lake. On the other side of the lake are the snow-capped peaks of Wyoming. Our next stop is at West Thumb Gesyer Basin, where all the colors of the rainbow can be found in the landscape. We make a stop at Old Faithful, which erupts just after we arrive, and hear from the ranger that now that the sun is shining, it is best to go to Grand Prismatic Spring. At the end of the day, the steam is less strong than in the morning, which allows you to see the colors better.

Grand Prismatic for me is one of the highlights of Yellowstone. Via a trail that did not exist when I was here ten years ago, you can now also view it from above. The walk on the boardwalk at the spring itself has significantly less color as you see it from eye height and the steam covers most. In the semi-darkness we drive back to West Yellowstone.

Overnight: Yellowstone Country Inn

Read more:
– Highlights of Yellowstone National Park
– How to plan for Yellowstone National Park

Despite having spent two days in Yellowstone, there is still so much left to see. We drive the Firehole Scenic Drive, visit the Lower and Midway Geyser Base and decide to enjoy the natural force of Old Faithful one more time.

The highlight of the day is not the eruption of Old Faithful, but the bear that suddenly appears right next to the car. We had actually given up hope of seeing a bear, but we are stuck in traffic and yes … a black bear walks through the verge. What a fantastic moment!

After Old Faithful we take the exit to the southern exit of the park. In 2014 I said goodbye for the first time and I did not know if I would ever come back. This time I simply say “until next time” because I will definitely come back to this fantastic place.

From Yellowstone we drive into Grand Teton National Park and immediately the landscape changes. The moment ‘the Tetons’ first appear in our field of vision, I get goosebumps. Those massive mountains are simply stunning! Here the autumn colors have clearly made their entrance. After a short stop at the information centre at Colter Bay Village it quickly becomes clear that it’s going to be difficult to choose where we will spend the day tomorrow.

Overnight: Teton Valley Cabins

A free day for Grand Teton National Park. As in Yellowstone, there’s so much to see that you can easily spend a week there, especially as a hiker. However, we have just one day and so we start it early at Mormon Row, the series of old farms that form a beautiful photo object. We spend the rest of the morning at Jenny Lake and the Moose Pond. It is our first real hike of the trip and so the bear spray also comes along. The walk is beautiful, we see no less than four moose once at the Moose Ponds.

We spend the afternoon in Jackson Village where we go up with the cable car. To be honest, I find it a bit of a disappointment. At the top it’s mainly very touristy and busy. So we quickly head back down, have a nice meal at a local brewery and cross the Teton Pass again to our overnight address.

Overnight: Cobblestone Hotel, Victor

Want to read more? Then check my complete article about Grand Teton in September here.

Today our road trip through Idaho begins, a state that is relatively unknown to overseas travellers it seems. From Victor we drive over the Teton Scenic Byway to Mesa Falls. To our right are the Tetons, this time from the western side, and to our left seemingly endless agricultural fields. Idaho is also called the Potato State and it quickly becomes clear to me why.

The Lower Mesa Falls are beautifully hidden in a deep canyon, at the Upper Mesa Falls we can almost walk all the way up to the river. In the afternoon we take a short hike around Harriman State Park where we admire historical buildings and see a lot of beautiful birds swimming in the lake. After a short visit to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes, we arrive in Idaho Falls.

Overnight: Hilton Garden Inn Idaho Falls

Idaho is said to have beautiful mountains and today we are driving right into them. From Idaho Falls we drive to the small village called Salmon. Idaho has a total of 31 Scenic Byways, they are special routes with a theme, and today we drive the Sacajawea Scenic Byway, which is dedicated to the Indian woman who helped explorers Lewis and Clark map out this part of America.

The grandeur of the landscape is amazing on this route. The road is completely straight in some places, there is no mobile phone reception, we don’t pass another car for an hour and not even see any villages. This must be the landscape as Lewis and Clark experienced it back then.

After a few stops we arrive in Salmon, one of the mountain villages of Idaho where outdoor meets western style. In the afternoon we decide to do a hike through the mountains to the Goldbug Hot Springs. It’s a beautiful route, sometimes tough because of the heat, and the dip warm water is very welcome. After an hour in the water we get back to the car and look for a place to eat. Eventually we arrive at a some of saloon where the waiter tells us that he has never seen Dutch people here. Lucky us!

Overnight: Sacajawea Inn

We drive through beautiful gorges to the south via the Salmon River Scenic Byway. We make a stop at a ghost town in the middle of the s, drive right past the highest mountain in Idaho (Borah Peak, 3.861m) and eventually arrive at Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Idaho has no national parks but it does have a national monument: Craters of the Moon. It’s a relatively small park that you can easily visit in an afternoon. We take several short walks through the volcanic landscape, climb craters and enjoy the views. What a special place this is!

After visiting Craters of the Moon we drive to Ketchum. Also a mountain village, but the complete opposite of Salmon. This is where the rich and famous reside and everything here exudes wealth and allure. So does our wonderful hotel. We sit down on the terrace and enjoy some time in the hot tub. What an amazing day this has been once again!

Overnight: Limelight Hotel

There was one place that was very high on my wish list in Idaho and that was the Sawtooth Mountains. For a while it was unclear whether our trip could go ahead as planned due to forest fires around the village of Stanley. Fortunately, it turns out that the worst fires have been extinguished and that, just before our arrival in Idaho, most roads are open again. And so we leave for a beautiful road trip to McCall.

The autumn colors are beautiful and this route is road tripping as it should be. Narrow roads through the mountains, views, no mobile reception and a different panorama around every bend. The Sawtooths soon come into view and wow: they are certainly as good as the Tetons, but without the tourists.

As we still we have a long day of driving ahead of us, there is too little time to go for a hike today but I will definitely come back here again. Via the Payette Scenic Byway (beautiful!) we arrive in Cascade. Here we see ongoing forest fires in the distance, the painful reality. Not much later we reach McCall, a historic village on the shores of Payette Lake.

Overnight: Hotel McCall

Today we have almost the entire day to hike near McCall. First of all it’s important to find out which trails are open due to the forest fires further down the valley. Ponderosa State Park seems like a safe choice. The immense Ponderosa Pines tower over us and the highlight of the trail definitely is the viewpoint over the lake.

However, we also want to do a mountain hike and so we decide to go to Boulder Lake. We arrive at a deserted spot in the forest via a bumpy road (not suitable for normal cars). Is this the most beautiful spot in McCall? Two hours later we arrive at Boulder Lake. Now I understand why this is such a popular spot. And … apart from a handful of Americans, we have not seen anyone else on the route

Unfortunately, we have to descend again not too long after arriving because we still have the drive to Boise ahead of us. After a drive of almost three hours we arrive in the capital of Idaho: Boise.

Overnight: The Modern Hotel

Boise is the cozy capital of Idaho. Although it initially seems like just another American city, it’s surprisingly nice and charming. We spend the first day in the Bruneau Sand Dunes, an hour and a half’s drive outside the city. We get lost, find the right path again and get lost again. Still, it’s enjoyable, especially when I hear that the first snow has fallen back home in Swedish Lapland, while I walk through the desert in my shorts and t-shirt.

I spend the other day in the city itself. Marjolein and I have now spent two weeks together almost full-time and decide to each do our own thing that day. I take a city walk along the Green Belt, visit the Anne Frank Memorial, go to the State Capitol and chat with the incredibly nice locals along the way.

Overnight: The Modern Hotel

It’s time to leave Idaho behind and drive to our next destination: Oregon. We leave early because we have a long drive to do today. The only stop we make is at the beautiful Painted Hills, a series of red/yellow colored mountains that are part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Here we make several short walks and see the landscape change with every hour. Sometimes arid and dry, then mountainous and green. At the end of the day we arrive in the town of Redmond in Central Oregon.

Overnight: SCP Redmond

We start the morning with a short drive to Smith Rock State Park, where we do a fantastic hike. This park is formed by the Crooked River and is a climbers paradise. There’s also plenty of hiking trails, we do the Misery Loop route, a hike that is labeled as challenging. Although it is warm and sometimes steep, I would not call it challenging if are an experienced hiker and well prepared.

In the afternoon we drive to the town of Bend. We see the landscape change visibly: from the desert of Redmond to the green hills around Bend. After a quick visit to the Tumalo Falls we go into town. Cozy, but busy.

Overnight: The Loge Bend

Today we have planned to visit Crater Lake National Park, the only national park in Oregon. I was here in 2017 and I know that it’s going to be simply beautiful. The first time you stare over the rim into the depths is indescribable. My previous visit was mainly about hiking, this time I visit various tourist spots in the park and … I go swimming in Crater Lake, the deepest lake in America. From one of the highest points on the rim we can even see the snow-capped Mount Shasta in California, one of the highest peaks in that state.

At the end of the day we drive through the endless forests that Oregon is so famous for to the tiny village of Prospect. The historic Prospect Hotel is located in the middle of the woods and although the rooms are creaky and anything but modern, that’s also the greatest charm of this place. And of course the talkative owner, who knows how to tell wonderful stories.

Overnight: The Prospect Hotel

More reading: things to do at Crater Lake

Today we drive to the Oregon Coast, but not without visiting some beautiful waterfalls along the way. The Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway has a lot of waterfalls and you can easily spend a whole day or two there. We stop at Watson Falls and Toketee Falls. Once at the coast we ended up at the Oregon Sand Dunes where we did a sandboarding lesson. Unfortunately it was only an hour but I managed to get down safely. Without falling? No, definitely not.

Overnight: Driftwood Shores

My previous experience with the Oregon Coast was not great. This was mainly because I was there in the middle of summer and it was just crazy busy everywhere. Not this time. And wow, did I enjoy it! This time we made stops at Heceta Heads and Cape Perpetua. Here we walked a small part of the Oregon Coast Trail and visited a magnificent viewpoint high above the ocean.

In the afternoon we drove to Portland. We arrived here around the end of the afternoon, just in time to take a quick city walk, including to the Columbia River, along the “Keep Portland Weird” mural and of course to the Voodoo Donuts. I also could not resist stepping into Powell Books, the largest independent bookstore in the world.

Overnight: Hotel Deluxe

After a week in Oregon it’s time to move on to the last location during my trip: Seattle. Today it rains for the first time in 2.5 weeks and that doesn’t matter at all because that’s what Oregon is known for after all. The forests are lush and green for a reason! We make a stop at the beautiful Multnomah Falls and the Bridge of the Gods, the bridge over the Columbia River that connects Oregon to Washington.

On the way to Seattle it’s pouring down. Although we wanted to go to Mount St. Helens, that doesn’t make much sense in this weather because there is zero visibility. Instead we head to the Museum of Flight, which is very nice, especially for an airplane nerd like me. We don’t have a lot of time, but in an hour I can at least see the planes and one of the halls with history. I could undoubtedly have enjoyed myself here longer.

Overnight: The Royal Alexis Hotel

Read more: Things to do in Oregon + route suggestion

Today we have a free day in Seattle planned. I think Seattle is a really nice city, it really feels big with its skyline when you arrive. In the morning we head up the famous Seattle Space Needle for a beautiful view of the city and in the distance the massive Mount Rainier. After lunch we board a boat and take a tour of the harbor. The view of the skyline is beautiful and we learn a lot of fun facts about the city. Afterwards we walk through the Pike Place Market and along the famous gum wall.

Our Seattle CityPASS also offers the possibility to go up the elevator at the Space Needle again in the evening. The view with all those lights over the city is breathtaking and a worthy end to my trip.

Overnight: The Royal Alexis Hotel

After breakfast I get in the car. Marjolein will stay for a few more days, I will fly home today. Three weeks of traveling and almost 6.000 kilometers on the counter later I return the car at Seattle airport, which goes smoothly and quickly. I check in for my flight to Amsterdam and head to the gate.

This flight with Delta is also comfortable, although this time I spend most of the flight sleeping. The next day I land in Amsterdam and then fly on to Swedish Lapland. A wonderful adventure has come to an end!

We spent almost every day in the car and drove considerable distances. When I returned the car in Seattle, the counter was at almost 6.000 kilometers, or an average of about 300 kilometers per day. The car stood still for two days, 1 day in Boise and 1 day in Seattle. If you have more time available, I would recommend driving this route in four weeks and planning extra time for Grand Teton, for example, an extra night in Ketchum and a bit more time on the Oregon Coast.

What struck me is that we encountered many tourists in Yellowstone and Grand Teton, but that it was relatively quiet everywhere in Idaho. The only tourists we saw were Americans, I didn’t see any foreign tourists the entire week in Idaho. A real gem as far as I’m concerned as it really gives you the feeling that you’re doing something special rather than following the mass tourism.

I would strongly advise you to plan this route outside the high season as much as possible. We traveled from mid-September to the first week of October. The weather was fine, except for two rainy days, and even downright warm in some places. If you can only go on holiday in the summer months (July and August), it’s absolutely necessary to book all accommodations well in advance. I once traveled along the Oregon Coast in July and could not find an available room or campsite anywhere, so I even slept in my car for a night.

If you travel before the high season, I advise you to take into account that there may still be snow on higher parts of the route. I was in Yellowstone in June in 2014 and not all hikes were open then. The same applied to Crater Lake in July.

As far as I am concerned, September and early October were great months to travel. We were right ahead of the first snowfall of the season (two weeks later the first snow shower fell in Yellowstone and many roads were closed) and had mostly warm days, but not too warm. We also had some autumn colours in the landscape in some places. What is also useful to take into account is that the days are relatively short in terms of daylight. It was often dark around 7 p.m. and if you, like me, don’t like driving in the dark in an unknown place, you sometimes have to shorten your plans a bit.

There are no travel organizations that have this route in their program. It is really a unique route that combines known and unknown places. So it comes down to your own creativity if you want to make this trip.

• We flew direct with Delta Air Lines to Salt Lake City and back from Seattle. Delta is an airline that has sustainability high on its agenda and is the most awarded airline in America. My review of Delta Air Lines can be found here.
• We booked our rental car with Alamo, in my opinion one of the better companies in America. I have rented a car through them every time I have traveled in America and I am very happy with it. Check the rates and availability here. For the route and sights that we have done I would recommend an SUV.
• As mentioned, during high season (July and August) most campsites and hotels are fully booked well in advance. Nowadays I arrange my overnight stays well in advance via Booking.com so that I don’t have to search for a place to stay on the spot.

I really enjoyed this trip. What makes this route so special is the variation, every day the landscape is different. I have seen all kinds of nature: geysers, wildlife, mountains, deserts, the ocean, volcanoes, glaciers, rainforests and mighty rivers.

Want to read more about America? Then you may enjoy any of the following posts:

• The perfect 14-day Pacific Northwest roadtrip itinerary
• A travel guide for 24 hours in Mt. Hood
• The best things to do in Olympic National Park

I made this trip partly in collaboration with Delta Air Lines, Auto’s Huren, Visit Salt Lake City, Visit Idaho, Travel Oregon, Travel Portland and Visit Seattle. All given opinions are of course entirely my own.

_{This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase and/or reservation via such a link, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for considering!}