bwg

Looks like we may fly into Seattle , get a rental car and drive to Lethbridge, Alberta, CA.
Hadn't really planned to go to Mt Rainier , but if we do how much time should we allow? Looks like interstate 90 and 15 would be the best route.
Your thoughts on things to see on this route or the route itself would be appreciated.
Thank you!

tomfuller

What is in Lethbridge that you always wanted to see?
If you just want to go into Canada, I'd drive the Going to the Sun Road from West Glacier over to St. Mary and then head north to Waterton. Bring the rental car back into the US before turning it in in any case.
If you don't want to drive US 2 out of Spokane, you can take the Amtrak Empire Builder overnight to Whitefish MT and rent a car from there.
Flying to Seattle is OK but maybe you want to check flying to Spokane.
I did once rent a car in Cut Bank MT for 1 day to go see the east side of Glacier but I don't really recommend it.

bwg

staying at a resort outside Lethbridge - going to Banff and Glacier from there

tomfuller

Coming back into the US to return the rental car? Glacier National Park in Montana or Glacier in the Canadian Rockies?
In Idaho you might want to spend a night in Coeur d' Alene which has a beautiful lake nearby.

happytrailstoyou

You are right: 90 and 15 is the fastest route

If you like off-the-beaten track, Highway 25 is a scenic drive up the east side of the Columbia River that leads to Rosalind, Trail, Nelson (interesting but out of the way), Creston, Cranbrook, and other out-of-the-way towns. It's a slow drive, but we like it.

Another route we like is to go across Stevens Pass on Highway 2, and then up 97Alt (which offers magnificent views of the Columbia River) and through the Okanagan to Osoyoos and then east on those slow-moving Canadian Roads.

Mt. Rainier is very much worth a visit on a clear day. Being close to the mountain is always an exciting experience for us. You could do that as a day trip from Seattle or on the first day of your drive to Lethbridge. If you go for the second option, you could spend the night in Yakima (Oxford Suites on the Yakima River) or Ellensburg (Hampton Inn).

HTtY

Gardyloo

This assumes you're traveling in the summer and not at some other time of the year. How many days do you have to make the drive?

bwg

Thanks happytrailstoyou for the great tips! And yes this will be in the summer.

bwg

HTtY- are there border crossing stations into Canada at all of the highways? such as 93 or 95?

happytrailstoyou

Yes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rder_crossings

HTtY

bwg

Terrific! Thanks HTtY !

sludick

bwg, not all border crossings are 24 hours. If you use a smart phone, get the free Washington DOT app downloaded. It will give you all the border crossings, current waits, etc. A little more info on the crossings: http://www.ezbordercrossing.com/list.../#.VQRAa8J0xG8

tomfuller does make a good point about Spokane; it's our preferred airport for trips to Banff/Okanagan.

bwg

very informative, sludick- thank you! I was considering going on Hwy. 93 to the Roosville/Grasmere border crossing. But Yikes! 3-4 hour waits ?!? is that common? We will be traveling the end of August.