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    Bow Hill Rest Area

    3.9 (15 reviews)
    InexpensiveRest Stops

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    Nice and calm, Wednesday 20 September 2023.
    Tanis L.

    Adventuring to Bellingham today, Wednesday 20 September 2023, as a solo female traveler, I was unfamiliar with rest areas north of the Smokey Point Rest Area as I had not made it this far north on my own before. Driving northbound on I-5 and starting to think through where I might find a restroom, a sign along the side of the interstate communicated a Rest Area at the next turn-off/exit. I smiled, happy I was paying attention and spotted the sign in time. The rest area was tucked off the interstate and had parking that was easy to maneuver in to. Walkways to the restroom buildings were flat and paved. Two restroom buildings were available for usage, each having men and women restrooms. I found a working water fountain, Washington State map, and sign providing the name of the WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) rest area (Bow Hill Rest Area). Perhaps the biggest perk aside from the tall trees around the parking area was what I felt when I opened the door to the restroom. It was warmth. Turned out the restrooms were heated and as it was a cooler morning, the heat was on. A huge positive surprise. The interior of the restroom was one of the cleanliest I have seen for a WSDOT rest area and I made sure to do my best to not change that.

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    Kevin W.

    Bow Hill was the perfect rest stop during our road trip to Vancouver. Held us all over until we got across the boarder. Restrooms were clean. Large parking area. Easy to get in and right back on to the 5.

    James M.

    Nice area on the interstate, very secluded and quiet. Restroom could be cleaner. Lots of parking.

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    Ask the Community - Bow Hill Rest Area

    Review Highlights - Bow Hill Rest Area

    This rest area is north of Marysville on I-5, going north towards the Canadian/US border.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Smokey Point Rest Area - women's restroom

    Smokey Point Rest Area

    (18 reviews)

    $

    Decent enough for a rest and stretch my legs after driving for a couple of hours. There is a sign…read morethat indicates eight hours of parking is permitted which is nice. There are separate areas for trucks and cars. Both have some decent tall trees for shade and are nicely far from the noise of the highway if you were thinking of taking a nap. Some trash and the rest room needed attention. But if you just want to walk around without getting off the highway, this works. [Review 20858 overall - 115 in Washington - 1842 of 2023.]

    We visited the southbound rest area, the one that doesn't have the big dead tree stump. There was…read moreplenty of parking surrounded by green grass and tall trees. Trucks and passenger vehicles parked in different lots separated by the washrooms. The washrooms were about as clean as you can expect for a roadside rest stop, and the water to wash your hands was warm - a nice touch. There is a pet area to the edge of the rest area near the cars where pets are supposed to stay on leash. Closer to the washroom building is a larger grassy area with a couple of picnic tables and some trees were my children ran free to get their wiggles out. The only downside to this rest area is the very irresponsible animal owners that rudely let their animals run outside of the pet area, leaving dog bombs that didn't get picked up. My youngest stepped in dog poop not once, but twice. Thankfully he was wearing rain boots so it was possible to wash it off, but sheesh. Not what we had hoped for. PICK UP AFTER YOUR ANIMALS!

    Silver Reef Casino

    Silver Reef Casino

    (197 reviews)

    $$

    We have learned on certain road trips to avoid hotels in crowded big cities. Parking was always an…read moreissue and often an added extra expense after the cost of the room... So here we are at the Silver Reef Casino. An open area outside of the crowds. We called the local number to make our reservations and to avoid these online reservations agencies that just inflate the prices. We ended up with a nice hotel with clean rooms. Our room has queen size beds with a medium firmness. This room is clean and spacious. It has a large flat screen TV, a decent sized mini fridge, a dresser for those of us who like to unpack. The A/C unit heats nicely. There is a large vanity for the bathroom and the tub shower offers shampoo and body wash. The bonus to staying at a casino hotel is the addition of security. Less worries about your car. Then there's the restaurants that are available, here there are 5. So there it is, well kept rooms, plenty of free, secure parking, and on site restaurants as well as some adult entertainment before getting some shut eye. Much more relaxing here instead of being in the crowded big cities with minimal parking.

    Red River added poutine to the menu and it was not good. So salty its all you can taste. Also you…read moreget as many fries as you would as a side, very little gravy and they charged $15 for it. Over priced and would not recommend anyone waste your money on this. The waitress Carrie was amazing though! She has exemplary customer service skills and was very pleasant. So thank you Carrie for the excellent service. Food was just a massive disappointment.

    Toutle River Rest Area - Turtles everywhere

    Toutle River Rest Area

    (1 review)

    Oh, poo. First stop…read moreon the road trip to California. Left on schedule, making great time down Highway 5, I'm gonna hit Grants Pass before 6 pm!! Woo hoo!! Ferghal and Lola are zonked out and I hate to stop but I *gotta go*. As I make my way to the right side of the highway, the pups perk up and breathe their doggie breath down my neck . Much meefing and wild tail wagging. Pups loves them a road trip --- because that means Rest Areas!! They are dogs --- they are easily pleased. First order of business --- figuring out where the hell I am. I drove past Chehalis, but the rest stop sign *says* Chelhalis. I know that's wrong, but deep down I wonder if maybe I'm driving on some sorta road to hell and I've been unknowlingly driving in the Chehalis vortex --- because if there is such a thing --- it's not in middle of the ocean near Bermuda, No, no, no , it's here. In Chehalis. The place people dream of leaving. I could hardly stand staying long enough to pee. Which brings me to the second order of business: Clean bathrooms (but no toilet seat covers --- that just makes me cranky), free coffee, stale store bought cookies (some road stops have ladies who make cookies, this rest stop was staffed by a couple of retired truckers who found the cookies behind the seat in the rig). Now for the third order of business: c'mon pups... do your bidniss! Holy crap! I mean literally... Holy. Crap. There is dog poop everywhere. Ooooooh geeeeeez. I guess those "pick up after your pooch please" signs you see some places really help --- and if you're not gonna have toilet seat covers --- how 'bout some POOP BAGS!? YES I AM YELLING HERE. It coulda been a nice rest stop too --- couple of tables under the trees. Nice wide paths to walk around. It could have been so nice but for well, the poo. Hey! Look - they have WiFi!! Nevermind. Registration won't work --- I don't think I like this rest stop, they don't even have vending machines. Time to toutle on down the highway.

    Thousand Trails Mount Vernon

    Thousand Trails Mount Vernon

    (15 reviews)

    We are annual members of Thousand Trails, renewing yearly…read more We have just returned from a 2wk visit to Mt Vernon TT. This year TT are assigning campsites and so far they've been good. Our site was a little shady but clean and roomy. We have an average sized travel trailer (self contained) so a full hook up was not necessary and there was a restroom close by. But, the problem was the men's side looked vandalized and nearly unusable. I felt bad for the folks who had paid for hurts in that area. The women's side was cleaned daily but the showers needed more attention, hair and dirt under the mats.

    I am going to go ahead and echo what other folks have said about this particular location because i…read moreactually felt moved to write up a yelp review. I camp regularly with friends, this was my friends and my first time in this particular camp and now the pros. Pro: Showed up late but the guy at the front was super kind and even gave us a little time to rinse off before leaving the pool. We had a hoot, the place was quiet and we were able to celebrate a friends birthday and star gaze. The cons: The lady in the cart with the power trip. She's got to go. Not only did she feel the need to SCREAM at us but she also wanted to sit there and lecture. nope. unfortunately, alot of other people have had this interaction with her and she either needs coaching or what not. the other campers around us were super kind and its a sham that with all the amenities it still soured out FIRST time on this lot. This was for Bow,WA as well.

    Bow Hill Rest Area - reststops - Updated May 2026

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