Washington, DC to Seattle, WA: A Complete Road Trip

Seattle and Washington, D.C. are located on opposite sides of the United States, with a distance of approximately 2,700 miles (4,300 kilometers) between them. The most scenic way to travel from Seattle to Washington, D.C., would likely involve a cross-country road trip, with stops to explore some of the natural wonders and historic landmarks of the American West and Midwest.

Some possible scenic routes to consider might include:

The Pacific Coast Highway: Follow Highway 101 along the stunning coastline of California and Oregon, with stops at iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, Big Sur, and Cannon Beach.
The Great Lakes Circle Tour: Explore the beautiful shores and charming towns of the Great Lakes region, passing through states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
The Yellowstone Loop: Visit the world-famous geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, then continue through the rugged mountain landscapes of Wyoming and Montana.
The Appalachian Trail: Follow the historic trail through the rolling hills and verdant forests of the eastern United States, passing through states like Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Of course, a road trip of this magnitude would require significant planning and preparation, as well as a willingness to spend several weeks or months on the road. Alternatively, you could consider taking a scenic train journey or booking a flight that includes stops in some of the country’s most beautiful cities and regions.

This video begins in Washington, DC, in the early morning of May 3, 2018 and concludes in Tacoma, WA, just south of Seattle, in the late morning of May 6, 2018. The drive was 3,084 miles (4,963 kilometers). This video was recorded in real-time, but this video is played back at 4x time-lapse speed. (This video’s real-time and hyper-lapse versions will be uploaded in several parts soon.) Nearly all of this entire video was done in the daytime; however, there is about a 20-minute section between Caldwell, Idaho, and eastern Oregon done in darkness as it was before sunrise.

The states passed through are
District of Columbia (0:00:20-0:02:02)
Virginia (0:02:02-0:52:00)
West Virginia (0:52:00-1:36:28)
Kentucky (1:36:28-2:18:16)
Indiana (2:18:16-2:44:19)
Illinois (2:44:19-3:11:01)
Missouri (3:11:01-4:10:05)
Kansas (4:10:05-5:34:14)
Colorado (5:34:14-7:17:47)
Utah (7:17:47-8:27:32)
Idaho (8:27:32-9:20:40)
Oregon (9:20:40-10:04:18)
Washington (10:04:18-10:58:48)

The highest elevation of the drive was 11,158 feet (3,401 meters) at the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado (6:22:45). The hottest temperature of the drive was 86 F (30 C) between western West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, as well as near Jerome, Idaho. The coldest temperature of the drive was 24 F (-5 C) at Vail Pass, Colorado (6:27:55).

This video is a long time coming, but it is finally uploaded. This is the first of many videos I will be uploading in the upcoming months. Unlike the CA-NY video, this video was entirely done in one trip with the same vehicle – a 2018 Nissan Pathfinder. Also, this video was shot using the Garmin Virb Ultra 30, which records GPS information. The position, elevation, and heading are shown on the video. Since 2/3 of all viewers of my videos are from outside the U.S., I set everything to metric. I plan to use English units for the real-time versions, however.

Day 1 of this video in real-time can be found here: https://youtu.be/eD8dJDo86Jw
Day 2 of this video in real-time can be found here:

Day 3 of this video in real-time can be found here:

Day 4 of this video in real-time can be found here:

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