2 Days: Seattle Day Trips
Two days is enough for exactly two of Seattle’s day trips done properly, not five done badly: Mount Rainier National Park, then Bainbridge Island. For the road-trip legs further out, see the 3 day or 5 day versions; for the city itself, our Seattle guide covers Pike Place and the Space Needle.
Book these before you go:
- Compare rental cars on Discover Cars
- Mount Rainier day tours on GetYourGuide
- Downtown Seattle hotels on Booking.com
| Day | Stop | Distance from Seattle | Travel time | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Rainier National Park | 107 miles | 2-2.5 hrs drive | Paradise, go before 9am |
| 2 | Bainbridge Island | 8 miles, ferry | 35 min | Winslow, easy half day |
Day 1: Mount Rainier, go early
Mount Rainier (official park info at nps.gov/mora ) is roughly 107 miles and 2 to 2.5 hours away via I-5, WA-512, WA-7 and WA-706, and 2026 drops the timed-entry reservation system entirely after two pilot years: entry is first come, first served again. That’s good news only if you’re early. The Paradise parking lot fills by around 9am on summer weekends, so leave by 6:30am, or book a guided day tour and let someone else manage the gamble. Entrance runs a flat $30 per vehicle, cashless only, good for 7 days (current fees at nps.gov/mora ).
Day 2: Bainbridge Island, the easy one
The passenger ferry leaves directly from the downtown Seattle waterfront, takes 35 minutes, and costs $11.35 westbound for an adult, free heading back since Washington State Ferries only charges fare in one direction (current fares at wsdot.wa.gov ). Winslow, the island’s small town center, sits right at the ferry dock, so no car is required for a relaxed half day of wandering, a coffee, and a walk along the water. It’s the cheapest, lowest-effort trip on this whole list, and after an early Rainier morning the day before, that’s exactly the pace you want.
Do you need a car for this itinerary?
Yes, for day one. Mount Rainier has no realistic public transit option and a rental is the only way to control your own timing around that 9am parking cutoff. Day two flips that entirely: the Bainbridge ferry leaves on foot from downtown, and a car only complicates a trip that’s designed to be walked.
Which day would you cut if you only had one?
Keep Mount Rainier and drop Bainbridge, not the other way around. Bainbridge is genuinely easy to add back on a future trip or even a half day tacked onto a longer Seattle stay; Rainier rewards the early planning and long drive in a way nothing else this close to the city does.
One concrete tip: buy Mount Rainier’s entrance as part of a guided tour if you’re not confident about a 6:30am departure. The parking lot doesn’t care how good your excuse is for arriving at 10am.