washington state travel tips & road conditions

It’s important to check road conditions, alerts, and drive times before setting out. In the winter, it is very important to also check mountain pass conditions as there may be chain requirements, described below, or mountain pass road closures.  Certain mountain passes have seasonal closures and are closed for several months during the winter, requiring alternate routes.  

•hov lanes and toll roads•

One thing that was new to me when moving to Washington was HOV and toll lanes.  High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes are for vehicles with multiple occupants, which will be specified on signage and usually means 2 or more people in each vehicle.  These lanes are marked with white diamonds painted on the pavement within the lane, and on signs along the highway where they are located.  The lanes are also typically separated from other lanes by a solid white line.  Note that motorcycles are also allowed to use the HOV lanes.  
 
Washington State also has some toll roads, bridges, and tunnels.  To make paying the tolls very simple, you can sign up for a Good To Go! account and receive a pass for your windshield, and they even allow temporary accounts for visitors.  If you do not create an account and then you drive on a toll road, they take a picture of your license plate and mail the bill to the address where the vehicle is registered.  Note that if you are using a rental vehicle, the rental car company may charge extra fees above and beyond the tolls.  Plus, if you create an account and pay online, you save about $2 per toll versus paying by mail.  The Flex Pass also has an HOV mode where you can travel in the toll lanes on certain highways for free if you have two or more vehicle occupants.  This is the pass that we have!

•mountain passes•

In the winter, there are certain places such as mountain passes where you are required to have chains in your vehicle from November 1 to March 31.  Even if you are not actively using them, you are required to have them in your vehicle.  If you have never used chains before you should familiarize yourself with them at home first.  You don’t want to have to learn how to put chains on while you’re on the side of the highway in the snow.  It’s important to note that most or all rental car companies do not allow the use of chains on their vehicles. However, the chain requirements often do not apply to four wheel drive or all wheel drive vehicles, so that is another option unless signage specifically notes that chains are required on all vehicles.  If chains are required for some or all vehicles, there will be signage indicating so on the highway before you reach the area where they are required.  Then there are chain-up areas where there is a wide area next to the highway to pull over and put the chains on your vehicle.  See the Washington State Department of Transportation website for more information on the requirements and various advisories.  

•ferries•

Lastly, another thing that may be new to you is the ferry system.  See the WSDOT website for the ferry route map, schedules, and how to make vehicle reservations.  You can walk on or bring your vehicle on the ferries.  Certain busy ferry routes, such as those from Anacortes to the San Juan Islands, allow vehicle reservations and they are strongly recommended.  A certain percentage of reservations are made available at 7am Pacific Time on three different dates: 2 months before the season start date, 2 weeks before sailing, and 2 days before sailing.  Note that a reservation is NOT a ticket, it is just a no-cost reservation, and you buy a ticket when you arrive.  However, you must cancel by 5pm Pacific Time the day before the sailing in order to avoid a no-show fee.  Also note that reservations are only for one way, so be sure to make reservations for all legs of your trip.  On the day of your trip, bring the printed or mobile reservation barcode.  It’s generally recommended that you arrive 45-60 minutes ahead of sailing time.  You should also check for ferry travel alerts and the real-time map, as the ferries can often run behind schedule.  We have found that the entire ferry experience can be quite time consuming.  Between traffic enroute to the ferry terminal, arriving an hour early, and the ferries often running late, you should allow plenty of time for your ferry experience. 

•travel times•

Another thing that may be new if you are used to mostly city travel is that navigation tools such as Google Maps often underestimate drive times, particularly in more remote areas such as Olympic National Park.  Therefore, be sure to build in extra time to your trip just to be safe. 

•other questions•

If you still have questions or are unsure about traveling within Washington, the WSDOT website is a great resource.