Best places to take your Seattle car rental

Among the immense mountains, evergreen forests and placid Puget Sound waters, Seattle and its surroundings are simply begging to be explored with a discounted Washington car rental from Auto Europe! You are probably already aware that Seattle is one of the most affluent cities in the United States with tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon headquartered here; but that doesn't mean there's a shortage of affordable USA rental cars to go around! Book your Seattle car rental today with Auto Europe 

First, let’s first ask ourselves: what is there to see in Seattle with a car rental?

What to do in Seattle

Before you head off on your grand adventure to the Olympic Peninsula or the San Juan Islands with your low-cost SUV rental or perhaps an RV motorhome, you’ll definitely want to experience Seattle, otherwise known as the Emerald City. From the bustling Pike Place Market to the nearby Boeing airplane factory in Renton or taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island; get ready for some fun times! Be sure to go up the iconic Space Needle built in 1962 for the World Fair with the best views of the Puget Sound, as well as the Cascades and Olympic Mountains.

Underneath are some of the best day trips to take from Seattle during your car rental tour of Washington State:

Mount Rainier National Park

Driving time from Seattle to Mount Rainier National Park: 2 hrs 40 mins (107 mi)

With the nearest city being Tacoma, Mount Rainier National Park is a must-see destination for Seattle car rentals. Located in Pierce and Lewis County, the main attraction here is the 14,000-plus-foot stratovolcano Mount Rainier circled by the Wonderland Trail with amazing alpine peaks. Around here are also valleys, meadows, waterfalls, and even 91,000 acres of old-growth forest. Another great activity is to drive to Diablo Lake for the most turquoise-colored waters plus checking out the largest glacier by volume in the contiguous United States, Carbon Glacier, and Emmons Glacier, the largest in area.

Lake Cushman at Olympic National Forest

Driving time from Seattle to Olympic National Forest: 2 hrs 9 mins (104 mi)

Technically part of the Olympic National Park but worthy of its own outing, Lake Cushman is a vast body of glacial water measuring 4,010 acres on the north fork of the Skokomish River in Mason County. Fishermen will be stoked to find chinook salmon, rainbow trout, sockeye salmon, as well as Cutthroat trout. Also be sure to jump into the refreshing waters from Big Rock on the northwestern shore of Lake Cushman! Other common activities include paddling, kayaking, swimming, or simply relaxing by the water.

Anacortes

Driving time from Seattle to Anacortes: 1 hr 24 mins (89 mi)

This little boat town on Fidalgo Island in Skagit County will be your launch pad to a variety of nearby islands such as Orcas, Lopez, San Juan, among others! On San Juan Island, visitors often tour the Lime Kiln Lighthouse, the Friday Harbor village, not to mention excellent opportunities for whale watching and bioluminescence tours. On Fidalgo Island, visitors may want to hike Mount Erie, have a picnic at Washington Park, or take a bike ride about Guemes Channel Trail.

North Cascades National Park

Driving time from Seattle to North Cascades National Park: 2 hr 9 min (107 mi)

Mountains, glaciers, lakes, oh my! Plan on driving a couple hours north near the Canadian border for this incredible journey at North Cascades National Park with your Seattle car rental. Easy to reach on the North Cascades Highway, travelers can look forward to roaming around the 500,000-acre park full of 200 bird species with grizzly bears and gray wolves! One of the best trails is Thunder Creek while Ross Lake and the community of Stekehin are frequented destinations. For hiking, the tallest peak is Goode Mountain at 9,220 feet.

Cities around Seattle

• Seattle to Tacoma: 49 min (34 mi)
• Seattle to Spokane: 4 hr 13 min (279 mi)
• Seattle to Vancouver, WA: 2 hr 54 min (165 mi)
• Seattle to Portland: 3 hr 9 min (180 mi)
• Seattle to San Francisco: 13 hr 20 min (808 mi)