A practical guide to the 810-mile I-5 corridor: route options, the 2-day standard timeline, costs, Bay Area origin access, Seattle building rules, and how a direct carrier runs the route.
Heading north from San Francisco to Seattle is one of the cleanest long-distance corridors on the West Coast. One interstate (I-5), one mountain pass that matters (Siskiyou), one climate gradient (Mediterranean to maritime), and a 2-day operating window for a one-truck household when access at both ends is clean. This guide covers the route, the timeline framing, what fits in the truck, Bay Area origin access, Seattle delivery by neighborhood, costs, storage if the dates do not line up, and the FAQs we hear most before customers commit.
The 810-mile San Francisco to Seattle corridor runs entirely on I-5 north. The single operational variable that moves the route is the Siskiyou Pass at the California-Oregon border, where the summit hits 4,310 feet and chain controls are common between November and March. US-101 along the coast is a backup, but it adds roughly 150 miles and a full extra day, so it is reserved for the rare multi-day I-5 closure scenario.
The standard SF to Seattle move runs on a 2-day plan: a full loading day in San Francisco, an overnight rest break for the driver in the Redding or Medford area along I-5 per FMCSA hours-of-service rules, and arrival into Seattle on Day 2. Larger households, difficult access, heavy packing, or multi-truck jobs may be better planned as 3 days. Same-day delivery is not possible on this corridor because the loaded drive exceeds DOT driving limits in a single duty window.
Ontrack Moving® runs the corridor as an asset-based direct carrier under USDOT #2551548. The dedicated route page is at San Francisco to Seattle movers.
Unlike the SF to LA corridor, where customers ask about three roads (I-5, US-101, PCH), the SF to Seattle move is effectively a one-road answer: I-5 north for 810 miles. US-101 is a rare backup. The variable that actually moves the corridor is the Siskiyou Pass.
The full I-5 corridor from San Francisco to Seattle, segment by segment:
| Total distance | approximately 810 miles |
| Pure drive time (empty) | about 13 hours |
| Drive time (loaded) | 15 to 16 hours across 2 days with overnight rest |
| States crossed | California, Oregon, Washington |
| Highest point on route | Siskiyou Pass, 4,310 ft (CA/OR border) |
| Time zone | Pacific, end-to-end |
SF to Sacramento (90 mi). I-80 east out of San Francisco, transition to I-5 north at West Sacramento. The Bay Bridge and Carquinez Bridge are the early-morning bottlenecks; we time SF origin loads so the truck is on I-5 before peak afternoon Sacramento Valley traffic builds.
Sacramento to Redding (130 mi, total 220). Flat Sacramento Valley driving past Williams, Willows, Orland, and Red Bluff. Summer heat in the valley can hit 105 to 110°F in July and August, which matters for trailer interior temperature if heat-sensitive items are aboard.
Redding to Mt Shasta and the Siskiyou Pass (130 mi, total 350). The climb out of Redding starts almost immediately. Past Dunsmuir the road climbs into the Cascade foothills. The Siskiyou Pass summit at 4,310 feet sits just north of Yreka. This is the segment where winter chain controls are routine November through March, and the segment we monitor closely on departure day.
Siskiyou Pass to Eugene (200 mi, total 510). The descent into the Rogue Valley past Ashland and Medford, then the long Willamette Valley run north through Roseburg and Cottage Grove to Eugene. The valley is the easiest driving on the route.
Eugene to Portland (130 mi, total 640). Continued Willamette Valley driving past Salem and Wilsonville into the Portland metro. Afternoon traffic on I-5 through Portland between 3 and 6 PM adds 30 to 60 minutes when the timing lands wrong; we schedule the segment accordingly.
Portland to Seattle (170 mi, total 810). Across the Columbia River into Washington, then north past Vancouver WA, Centralia, Olympia, Tacoma, and into Seattle. The Tacoma-to-Seattle segment along I-5 between Joint Base Lewis-McChord and downtown Seattle is the late-afternoon bottleneck on this corridor; we schedule Seattle arrivals before noon or after 7 PM when possible.
Chain controls on the Siskiyou Pass between Yreka and Ashland are common from November through March. We monitor WSDOT, ODOT TripCheck, and Caltrans QuickMap conditions during transit and on departure day. The truck carries chains and the driver runs the segment in compliance with ODOT chain requirements when conditions are active. Full multi-day closures of the pass are rare but do happen during major winter storms, in which case we delay the load or route via US-101.
The coastal alternative runs from SF north through Eureka and Crescent City, joining I-5 in Oregon somewhere between Grants Pass and Roseburg. It adds roughly 150 miles and a full extra day to the corridor. We route US-101 only when I-5 has a forecast multi-day closure that cannot be avoided by simple delay.
SF to Seattle is usually a 2-day direct move for a one-truck household when loading and access are clean. Larger homes, difficult access, heavy packing, or multi-truck jobs may be better planned as 3 days.
Day 1 is a full loading day in San Francisco. The crew arrives in the morning, runs the inventory walkthrough, applies protection, pads and wraps furniture, and loads the truck. After loading is complete the truck departs north on I-5. The driver runs the corridor as far as DOT hours-of-service allow (Redding or Medford area are the typical overnight points), takes the required 10-hour rest, and continues to Seattle on Day 2 with an arrival window typically between morning and mid-afternoon depending on the previous night's rest position.
For a 4-bedroom or larger household, a multi-truck job, a stair-heavy origin walkup, or a destination building with restrictive elevator windows, a 3-day plan is the cleaner operating choice. Day 1 is the SF load with no time pressure. Day 2 is the full transit day. Day 3 is the Seattle unload with a full day for placement, reassembly, and debris removal. The 3-day plan removes the late-arrival risk on Day 2 and gives the destination building's freight elevator window room to breathe.
Same-day delivery is not possible on this corridor. The loaded drive alone is 15 to 16 hours, which exceeds the 11-hour driving limit a single driver can run in a 14-hour duty window under FMCSA hours-of-service rules. Some long-haul carriers run team-drivers (two operators alternating in the cab) to bypass this on freight, but that is not how household moves are operated. The standard pattern is one driver, one overnight rest break, two days.
A broker-routed shared load typically takes 5 to 14 days because the truck is consolidated with other shipments and routed by dispatch board, not by the customer's moving date. We do not run this model. More on the carrier-vs-broker distinction below.
Our 26-foot box truck has roughly 1,400 cubic feet of effective cargo capacity (about 1,560 CF geometric, with realistic effective fill near 90% once items are loaded with protective blankets, dunnage, and tetris-routing for irregular furniture). Useful reference points for typical SF households:
| Home size | Approximate volume | Notes for SF to Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | 200 to 400 CF | Fits in a fraction of one truck. 2-day standard. |
| 1-bedroom | 400 to 700 CF | One truck, light. 2-day standard. |
| 2-bedroom apartment | 700 to 1,200 CF | One truck, comfortable. 2-day standard. |
| 3-bedroom home | 1,200 to 2,000 CF | One truck full, or one truck plus overflow. 2-day or 3-day. |
| 4-bedroom home | 2,000 to 3,500 CF | Likely two trucks. 3-day plan recommended. |
| 5+ bedroom estate | 3,500+ CF | Two or more trucks. 3-day plan. |
These are planning ranges. Actual volume depends on furniture density, garage and storage contents, and how much the customer has packed versus kept loose. We do a walk-through or video survey before quoting to get the number right. At 810 miles, adding a second truck multiplies more than just the loading cost: drive labor, fuel, and overnight lodging all scale.
An SF to Seattle move runs about $8,500 to $11,500 in 2026. The low end starts around $8,500 for a studio or small one-bedroom; larger households scale up from there. Final cost depends on:
Basic $0.60 per pound per article cargo liability is included by default (federal FMCSA minimum). Additional valuation protection is available for purchase before the move. The COI and liability picture is covered in more detail in the Seattle delivery and FAQ sections below.
San Francisco origin access is where SF moves diverge from suburban moves, and the corridor-specific factors below show up the same whether the destination is LA, Seattle, or Phoenix.
Stairs and walkups. Many SF row houses, Victorians, and pre-war apartments have no elevator and two to four flights of stairs from the unit to the curb. Loading a 1,200 CF apartment from a third-floor walkup takes longer than loading the same inventory from a ground-floor unit. We staff the crew accordingly.
Street width and parking. Many SF residential streets are 12 to 14 feet wide one-way. A 26-foot truck takes the lane. The SFMTA Temporary No Stopping permit (often called a TOPP) reserves curb space in front of the building so the crew is not double-parked 200 feet away. The permit typically costs $250 to $500 depending on the district, must be filed at least 7 business days in advance, and signs must be posted 72 hours before the move. We coordinate this for the customer when given lead time.
SOMA, Mission Bay, FiDi high-rises. These buildings require freight elevator reservations through building management, typically with 14 days of lead time, and many require a Certificate of Insurance naming the building owner and management entity. The crew arrival window is governed by the elevator reservation, not by what is convenient for the truck.
Hayward dispatch. Our trucks dispatch from our Hayward, CA headquarters. For a 7 AM SF origin load, the crew rolls out of Hayward early. After the load wraps, the truck is on I-5 north within 30 minutes of leaving the SF origin block.
Seattle's building rules are not LA's building rules. The patterns are different in three concrete ways: SDOT loading permits work differently than LA's city parking permits, freight elevator pad-up is more building-managed in Seattle than it is in Los Angeles, and the topography of central Seattle (steep hills, narrow lower-Queen-Anne streets, post-WWII apartment stock with narrow elevators) drives access decisions that LA's grid streets do not.
South Lake Union, Belltown, Downtown. Glass-tower high-rises with strict freight elevator pad-up requirements. COI riders are routinely requested with limits of $2M to $10M general liability, named to the building owner and the property management entity. The freight elevator is booked through building management 14 days in advance and the pad-up is done by the building, not the moving crew. Loading-dock check-in with a security desk and a written manifest of the crew names is standard.
Capitol Hill. Older mid-rise apartments built between 1910 and 1960, plus newer infill towers along Broadway and 12th Ave. The older buildings have narrow elevators that can run small (some max out at 4-foot interior depth), which constrains what fits in a single elevator load. Loading zones are limited; SDOT (Seattle Department of Transportation) issues temporary No Parking permits via the SDOT Street Use program, typically 5 to 7 business days lead time.
Queen Anne. The steep streets are the defining feature. Counterbalance, named for the streetcar counterweights that used to haul cars up the grade, is one of the steepest residential streets in the city. We stage the truck at the flatter end of the block when possible and walk inventory to and from the building rather than parking on the grade. Lower Queen Anne (south of Mercer) is flatter and runs like a normal city load.
Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford. Mid-rise apartment stock with alley access more common than street-front loading. Many buildings have a service entry off the alley with a small freight access door, which is the right approach for furniture-heavy loads. Single-family homes in these neighborhoods often have driveway access; some have narrow side-yard pathways that constrain large pieces.
West Seattle. Single-family homes, mid-rise apartments along California Ave, and waterfront condos. The West Seattle Bridge runs normally and is the standard approach. Newer developments along Alki and the Junction follow building-managed COI and freight elevator patterns similar to downtown.
Eastside (Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond). Suburban and tech-corridor patterns. Microsoft, Amazon, and other tech-campus neighborhoods often have HOA-managed move-in windows (typically weekday business hours, occasionally weekend with notice) and require COI before garage-key handoff. Bellevue downtown high-rises follow the same freight elevator + COI pattern as Seattle proper.
SDOT loading permits. For curb-side loading in dense areas without a building loading dock, an SDOT temporary No Parking permit is the cleanest legal option. Application is via the SDOT Street Use online portal, fee runs roughly $20 to $40 per posted sign, lead time is 5 to 7 business days, and signs are physically posted 72 hours before the move. We coordinate this for the customer when given lead time.
Seattle buildings frequently request a Certificate of Insurance with limits of $2M to $10M general liability, naming the building owner and property management as additional insured. Our $10,000,000 Combined Protection Tower covers building and property liability requirements and is the line item the building wants to see. Most Seattle buildings accept our standard COI rider without modification.
Customer belongings are a separate matter and default to basic $0.60 per pound per article cargo liability under federal FMCSA rules. This is included automatically. If a customer wants full replacement value protection on their belongings, additional valuation can be purchased before the move. The $10M Tower does not cover individual item replacement; it covers third-party building and property exposure. These are two different coverages on the same move.
The classic SF-to-Seattle timing mismatch: the SF lease ends August 31, the Seattle lease starts September 7, and there are six days of nothing in between. Three options:
Vault-based storage in transit. A standard SIT vault is 7 feet by 7 feet by 5 feet, which is 245 cubic feet of geometric volume and about 200 CF of realistic usable storage after blankets, irregular furniture shapes, and items that cannot be stacked. The vault is loaded once at the warehouse with no tetris flex on the way in.
Pricing is $95 per vault per month plus a $22 one-time admin fee. A 3-bedroom household typically lands in 8 to 10 vaults. A 30-day SIT stay for a 3BR home is roughly 8 to 10 vaults times $95 plus $22, or about $780 to $972 for the month. The truck loads in SF, the contents vault at our Hayward warehouse, then redeliver to Seattle on the customer's date.
The customer rents a unit at PODS, Public Storage, Extra Space, or a similar facility in the Seattle metro. We deliver the truck directly to that facility on the load day. This is the cheapest short-term option because there is no warehousing on our end. The trade-off is double-handling later when the customer moves from storage into their Seattle unit.
For 1 to 3 day gaps, the truck can stay sealed between the Day 1 load and the Day 4 or Day 5 delivery. Lower cost than vault storage, no double-handling.
We coordinate the storage scenario with the customer's dates. The decision usually comes down to gap length: under 5 days favors the truck-hold option, over a week favors vault SIT, and over 30 days often favors a third-party facility in the Seattle metro.
Two patterns, and the choice affects cargo liability outcomes.
A professional packing day before the load day. The crew packs boxes, soft-crates mirrors and framed art, blankets and stretch-wraps furniture, and inventories everything. A crew pack day is billed separately from the move itself and the price depends on inventory volume and the proportion of fragile items. At 810 miles, the road-vibration exposure is meaningful, which raises the value of a professional pack. Ask for it on the onsite estimate.
We recommend crew-packing for: mirrors, framed art, glass tabletops, marble surfaces, lamps with shades, anything with a screen (TVs, monitors, iMacs), pianos, fine china, and any antique that benefits from soft-crating. At 810 miles, the road-vibration exposure is meaningful, which raises the value of a professional pack.
The customer packs their own boxes. We move them. The catch: if a PBO box arrives damaged, the carrier's liability is reduced because the packing was not done by us. Cargo liability still applies at the standard $0.60 per pound per article, but the carrier defense to damage claims is stronger when the items were customer-packed.
Items that customers can reasonably pack themselves: books, clothing, linens, kitchen items that are not fragile, garage items, tools, and anything already in its original box. For a full reference, see our packing guide.
A short list of the questions we hear most on this corridor, beyond cost and timeline.
The Siskiyou Pass in winter. This is the question on every January through March move. The answer is that we monitor conditions actively, the truck carries chains, the driver runs the segment legally under ODOT chain requirements when conditions are active, and we delay the load rather than run an unsafe pass when a major storm is forecast.
Wildfire smoke season. August through October the I-5 corridor through Northern California and Southern Oregon can run thick with wildfire smoke. Smoke alone does not close the highway in most cases, but it does mean reduced visibility and slower transit. We monitor AirNow and CHP incident feeds. Smoke is rarely a routing change; it is a timing-buffer consideration.
The Mediterranean-to-maritime climate shift. SF runs Mediterranean (mild, dry summers; cool wet winters), Seattle runs maritime (consistently cool, humid, frequent rain October through May). Wood furniture, leather, and electronics are the items most sensitive to the gradient. Wood acclimates over 2 to 4 weeks; we tell customers to leave drawers slightly open during acclimation. Cold electronics out of the truck into a warm Seattle interior need 4 to 8 hours before power-on to let condensation evaporate.
Reverse direction. Seattle-to-SF is a common return path. About a quarter of our SF-to-Seattle moves are people who lived in the Bay Area earlier and are coming back, or moving up for a job and planning to return later. The logistics are identical in both directions.
"Will it all fit?" Inventory volume estimation is the single most common source of moving-day surprise. The fix is an onsite or video estimate before the quote, not a phone-only estimate based on bedroom count. At 810 miles, an unexpected second truck is materially more expensive than a misjudged single-truck SF-to-LA load.
The broker-vs-carrier distinction matters more on this corridor than on the SF-to-LA route, not less. The 810-mile distance gives a broker-routed shared load 5 to 14 days to do what a direct carrier does in 2 to 3. During those 10+ days the customer has limited contact with the actual carrier and no ability to influence the dispatch sequence.
The broker promise: low quote, a 2-day delivery window, a named crew. The broker handoff: the job is sold to whichever carrier has capacity, which may not be the carrier the broker showed in the sales pitch. The carrier's dispatch board, not the broker's promise, controls the truck. We have unloaded SF-to-Seattle shipments where the customer was told 3 days and the trailer arrived 11 days later.
We run the corridor on our own trucks under USDOT #2551548. No subcontracting, no consolidation, no broker hand-off. The truck that loads in San Francisco is the truck that arrives in Seattle. 0% Federal Out-of-Service rate. Asset-based direct carrier. Our long-distance moving page covers the asset-based standard end-to-end. For more on the broker distinction, see Why Moving Brokers Are Not Movers.
For service tiers, pricing detail, and a binding estimate tied to your inventory and the access conditions at both ends, see the San Francisco to Seattle movers route page.
2-day standard service on the 810-mile I-5 corridor. Our trucks, our crew, asset-based direct carrier under USDOT #2551548. $10M Combined Protection Tower.
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