Mount Rainier, the Olympic Peninsula and Leavenworth by Rental Car, Before or After a Seattle Cruise

Read the middle column as a floor, not a forecast. I-5 and downtown traffic add a lot, and nothing here counts a stop for coffee.

Three of these are full days — Rainier, Hurricane Ridge and Leavenworth each run five hours or more of round-trip driving before you’ve walked anywhere.

Snoqualmie and the Boeing tour fit in half a day each, which leaves room for a hotel check-in or a slow lunch on either side.

None of them belongs on sail day. Do the drive the day before, sleep, and ride to the pier in the morning.

Mount Rainier is $30 a private vehicle for 7 days ($15 a person on foot or bike, $55 the park’s annual pass), and no timed-entry reservation is needed anywhere in the park. That makes Rainier the easy one — there’s nothing to book.

The Nisqually–Paradise road was open on Sept 28, 2026; in winter it’s the only way in, with the Longmire gate opening at 9 AM, uphill closing at 4 PM and downhill at 5 PM, once snow arrives in late October. Paradise is the road to plan around.

Sunrise Road is closed to vehicles until further notice because of the Grand Park 2 and Wonderland Complex fires (Sept 28, 2026 update) — so Sunrise is off the list this fall.

Stevens Canyon Road is open and scheduled to close Oct 26, 2026, date subject to change; its tunnel clears 12 ft 6 in. A tall rental van should check that number.

There is no public access to Carbon River and Mowich Lake from SR 165 — leave the northwest corner off the plan.

Two of you in a $50 car with the park fee come to about $132, our arithmetic, for the whole day. Fuel is the biggest line after the rent.

Every vehicle, 4WD and AWD included, must carry tire chains in the park from Nov 1 to May 1; we didn’t check the rental companies’ chain rules — read that clause before booking a November or spring trip.

Seattle–Bainbridge (Colman Dock, Pier 52): a standard car under 22 feet and driver $20.25, under 14 feet $16.05, each adult passenger $11.35 (seniors $5.65, youth free) on Oct 2, 2026. Passengers pay only westbound, at Seattle; the ferry page says vehicle-and-driver fares are also collected at Bainbridge, so the car pays again coming back. About a 35-minute crossing, first sailing 5:30 AM and last 10:50 PM from Seattle on the fall schedule.

Colman Dock is roughly 0.8 miles south of Pier 66 — not a measured route. That’s the dock you drive onto.

Off the Bainbridge ferry the park’s directions take SR 305, 3 and 104 to US 101; the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge closes periodically for boats. From the Pier 66 area that’s about 90.9 road miles and 2 hr 30 min of driving each way on our routing, plus the two crossings.

Two adults pay $20.25 for the car and driver each way plus $11.35 for the passenger, once. Add the park’s $30 and the day’s fixed costs come to about $81.85, our arithmetic at the Oct 2 fares.

With a $50 car and fuel for about 182 miles, the day runs roughly $178, our arithmetic. It’s a long day, not a hard one.

The Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge burned on May 7, 2023; temporary trailers have restrooms only, with no food or gift shop. Hurricane Ridge Road was open (since May 4, 2026), a 17-mile paved road that opens and closes with conditions; there’s no drinking water at the top — bring food and water from Port Angeles.

Lake Crescent lies about 18 miles west of Port Angeles on US 101; its lodge generally runs late spring to early fall — farther out, not on the way home, so add it only on a long summer evening.

A peak-season surcharge on vehicles and drivers runs May 1 to Sept 30, and from March 1, 2026 card purchases carry a 3% surcharge; we couldn’t tell whether the posted fares include it.

Snoqualmie Falls (6501 Railroad Ave SE) is open sunrise to sunset every day; free parking across the street and paid parking at $7 — the falls site says per hour, the city says just $7 for the lower lot.

Puget Sound Energy’s museum there opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10 to 5.

The falls are about 29.5 miles out, so a $50 car comes to roughly $73 for the day with fuel and tax, our arithmetic.

Leavenworth is the other kind of day. It’s about 118.4 miles each way on our routing — a $50 car runs about $107 with the fuel, our arithmetic.

Leavenworth’s downtown lots and street parking are $3 an hour Monday to Thursday and $4.50 Friday to Sunday in quiet weeks, $4.50 all week during festivals; on-street is limited to 3 hours, lots run 7 AM to 3 AM, and free park-and-rides connect by Link Transit’s Route 32 shuttle (11 to 7, about 30 minutes).

Park once and walk the town.

From Nov 15 to Mar 15 there’s no parking on city streets 3 to 7 AM; we didn’t check Stevens Pass traction rules, so a winter visit wants the pass report first.

Boeing’s Future of Flight (8415 Paine Field Blvd, Mukilteo) opens daily 8:30 to 5:30; general admission $14 (youth 6–15 $7), the Everett factory tour $42 to $46 for adults, with a 4-foot minimum height; parking is free.

That height minimum is the line that decides a family day. A child under 4 feet can’t take the factory tour, and we read no height rule for general admission.

Four adults on the tour, plus a $50 car and the fuel for about 50 miles, come to roughly $240 on our arithmetic — most of it the tour, not the car.

Mukilteo sits north of the city and SEA south of it, so a disembark-day visit before a flight means crossing all of Seattle twice. Do it the day before you sail.

Seattle’s 2026 cruise season runs Apr 17 to Oct 11, which keeps the chain rules out of play — and puts most sailings in the ferry’s peak season instead.

In peak season the Edmonds–Kingston crossing charged $27.00 for a standard car on Sept 28, 2026, against $20.25 now, per the ferry fare page. Budget for the higher figure on a summer sailing.

We didn’t read any rental company’s chain rules. If your trip falls after Nov 1, ask the desk before you buy chains for its car.

One day trip wants one rental day. Pick it up downtown that morning, drive, and return it before the desk closes — Avis keeps 7 to 7 daily.

If you’d rather collect at SEA on arrival, the airport page prices that route.