Centralia is a city in the Southwest Washington region of Washington State. It is a great place to stop for food and supplies when travelling between Seattle and Portland.

Centralia Downtown Historic District

Understand

Tourist office

• 1 Discover Lewis County, 360 NW North St, Chehalis (along NW North between Pacific & Chehalis Ave), ☏ +1 360. (updated Oct 2019)

Get in

By car

• : Centralia is just off of Interstate 5 (I-5) and is accessed from Exits #81 (Mellan St/City Center) & 82 (Harris Ave/Factory Outlet Way) from the northbound lanes. From the southbound lanes Centralia can be only be accessed from Exit #82. To get to Mellan St (where Exit/Mile Marker #81 is at) continue along the parallel lanes after exiting off at #82, follow the signs.

• : Goes east through the mountains, south of Mt Rainier, towards Yakima from Exit 68 of I-5 and west to Aberdeen through Tenino from Exit 88 of I-5. Between Exits 68 and 88, US Hwy 12 goes along I-5 through Centralia and Chehalis.

• : Goes through town as Pearl St (SB) & Tower St (NB). At 6th St, north of downtown, Tower St joins Pearl where SR-507 continues north into the countryside towards Yelm. From the south end of the downtown core, SR-507 goes west as Cherry St which becomes Alder and then Mellan St and ends at its junction with I-5 (Exit #81). South of Cherry St, Pearl & Tower St merges and continues south as Kresky Ave towards Chehalis. On some parts of the way Kresky Ave splits with the southbound traffic going south as Gold St which becomes National Ave into Chehalis while northbound traffic remains on Kresky.

By train

See also: Rail travel in the United States

• 1 Centralia Union Depot, 210 Railroad Ave (located in downtown Centralia). (updated Sep 2022)
  • Amtrak, ☏ +1 215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Operates train service around the United States of America. (updated Mar 2022) Routes stopping in Centralia:
    • Amtrak Cascades operates between Vancouver, BC and Eugene via Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Everett, Edmonds, Seattle, Tukwila, Tacoma, Lacey (Olympia), Centralia, Kelso (Longview), Vancouver, WA, Portland, Oregon City, Salem, and Albany. There are two round trips daily along the portion between Vancouver and Seattle, four round trips daily along the portion between Seattle and Portland, and two round trips daily along the portion between Portland and Eugene. No train departures travel the whole length of the route. Additional service between Vancouver and Seattle, and between Portland to Eugene are provided on the Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach.
    • Coast Starlight operates daily between Seattle and Los Angeles. Stops include Tacoma, Portland, Eugene, Klamath Falls, Dunsmuir, Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, San Francisco (Emeryville), Oakland, San Jose, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Van Nuys, and Burbank. Between Seattle and Eugene, it makes the same stops as the Amtrak Cascades, except it skips Tukwila and Oregon City.

By bus

• 2 Greyhound, (stop) Chevron at 1232 Mellen St (Chevron Gas Station & Convenience Store on Mellan St, off of I-5 at Exit #81), ☏ +1 360 736-9811, toll-free: +1-800-231-2222. Travels primarily on Interstate 5 between Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Centralia, Kelso/Longview and Portland. Buses going in both directions take a break here for passengers to disembark to go into the store to buy something to eat/drink, use the restrooms and/or smoke. The store does sell tickets. Take the local Twin Cities bus going west on Mellen St to get into downtown. (updated Sep 2022)
• Grays Harbor Transit Rt #45, (bus stop) Amtrak station at 210 Railroad Ave, ☏ +1 360 532-2770. Route starts from the front of the Amtrak depot, goes to Aberdeen/Hoquiam via Twin Transit e-Transit Station, Rochester, Lucky Eagle Casino, Oakville, Elma and Montesano. Bus operates 4x on Mondays through Fridays only. Alternatively take the Greyhound or Twin Transit 'Green' Line bus up to downtown Olympia and transfer to the #40 bus. (updated Sep 2022)
• Rural Transit Rt #4, (bus stop) Amtrak station at 210 Railroad Ave, ☏ +1 253 472-7846. Office hours M-F 9AM-3PM; Bus services M-F 6AM-6PM; check schedules. Rural Transit (rT) connects the communities of Rochester, Tenino, Bucoda, Rainier and Yelm, and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation to the greater tri-city area of Tumwater, Olympia, and Lacey in the north and Centralia in the south. (updated Jan 2019)

• Rt #2 Goes from Tumwater Square along Old Hwy 99 SE to Tenino and east towards Rainier along Sussex Ave E
• Rt #3 Goes from Tumwater Square along I-5 and Case Rd Sw to Grand Mound P&R (Exit #88 from I-5) and then west on US Hwy 12 to Rochester and the Chehalis Tribal Center on the Chehalis Indian Reservation.
• Rt #4 goes from Centralia to Grand Mount P&R, to Tenino (Tenino Library), Bucoda and back to Centralia from Bucoda.

Get around

By public transit

• Lewis County Transit (formerly Twin Transit), Mellen St Transit Station @ Mellen St & Old Airport Rd (SE of the intersection of Old Airport Rd & Mellen St (SR-507) at Exit 81 of I-5), ☏ +1 360 330-2072. Operates local city buses in/around Centralia and to neighboring Chehalis. They also operate an express bus ('Green Line') up to Olympia via Grand Mound and Tumwater; the Purple Line to Kelso via Castle Rock; and the Brown Line to Morton. (updated Sep 2019)

Do

• 1 Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound’s Water Park, 20500 Old Highway 99 SW, Grand Mound, toll-free: +1-800-640-9653. Located in Ground Mound, the next town north of Centralia. 

Buy

Shop in historic downtown. Enjoy a walk up and down Tower Ave, shopping in all the antiques. You’ll find many antique shops, craft stores, jewelry, and furniture shops.

• 1 Centralia Factory Outlets (West Outlets), 1301 Lum Rd (at Exit 82 along I-5), ☏ +1 360 736-3900. Centralia is also home to a discount outlet mall. It is home to Aéropostale, Gap Factory, T-Mobile Store, Nike Clearance Store, Polo Ralph Lauren, Under Armour, VF Outlet, etc. Some of the outlets are NW of the I-5/Harrison Ave junction while others are SE of the junction. (updated Sep 2019)
• The 2 Centralia Factory Outlets (East Outlets)
• 3 Centralia Farmers Market, Harrison Ave & High St (Centralia Outlet mall parking lot, between Vanity Fair (VF) and Papa Pete's Pizza). May to Sep: F 11AM-4PM. (updated Oct 2019)

Eat

• 1 Burgerville, 818 Harrison Ave, ☏ +1 360 736-5212. Daily 7AM-11PM. Founded in 1961, the NW's own fast food chain with a decidedly NW flavor promoting sustainable practices and fresh, local ingredients. Great burgers and traditional fast food fare. Amazing seasonal items including sweet potato fries, asparagus, strawberries, blackberries, onion rings and more. The original Burgerville USA was established in Vancouver, WA. 
• 2 Safeway, 1129 Harrison Ave, ☏ +1 360 330-0884. Daily 5AM-1AM. There are other restaurants around the surrounding area along Harrison Ave, west of I-5. Within the same shopping complex as Safeway there's a Papa's Murphy Pizza, Starbuck, Safeway Fuel pumps and Wells Fargo Bank. (updated Oct 2019)

Drink

• 1 Olympic Club Pub, 112 N Tower Ave (former card room of the Olympic Club Hotel, along Tower Ave between Main & Pine in downtown Centralia), ☏ +1 360 736-5164. Su-Th 7AM-midnight, F Sa 7AM-1AM. One of the McMenamin's bar and hotels. (updated Dec 2018)

Sleep

Most of the listed hotels in the below are located 2 mi (3.2 km) NW of town at Harris Ave & I-5 (Exit #82) surrounding the Factory Outlet Mall:

• 1 King Oscar, 1049 Eckerson Rd (NW of the I-5/Harrison Ave junction (Exit #82)), ☏ +1 360 736-1661. (updated Sep 2019)

The following is located off of the Mellen St Exit of I-5 which is also the closest to the Greyhound station (exit #81):

• 2 Peppermill Express Inn, 1233 Alder St (SW of the I-5/Mellen Ave junction (Exit #81)), ☏ +1 360 330-9441. Off of Exit #81 on Elsbury & Alder, behind Shell gas station. 

The following are located downtown which accessible from exit #81 (Mellen St) or 82 (Harris Ave) and closest to the Amtrak stgation:

• 3 McMenamins Olympic Club Hotel, 112 N Tower Ave (former card room of the Olympic Club Hotel, along Tower Ave between Main & Pine in downtown Centralia), ☏ +1 360 736-5164. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. One of the McMenamin's bar and hotels. (updated Dec 2018)
• 4 Centralia Square Grand Ballroom & Hotel, 202 W Centralia College Blvd (W Centralia College Blvd & S Pearl St, downtown), ☏ +1 360 807-1212, VintageEventVenues@yahoo.com. (updated Sep 2021)

Connect

• 2 Centralia Timberland Library, 110 S Silver (S Silver between Main & Centralia College Blvd/Locust St on west side of the George Washington Park), ☏ +1 360 736-0183. M Tu 10AM-7PM; W-F 10AM-6PM; Sa 10AM-5PM. (updated Oct 2019)
• 3 Centralia Post Office (US Postal Service), 214 Centralia College Blvd (S Silver & Centralia College Blvd/Locust St), ☏ +1 360 807-1169, toll-free: +1 800 275-8777. M-F 8:30AM-5PM; Sa 10AM-2PM. (updated Oct 2019)
• 4 Galvin Post Office (US Postal Service), 4810 Galvin Rd, Galvin (Glavin Rd & Grant St out in the village of Galvin, west side of town.), ☏ +1 360 330-2234, toll-free: +1 800 275-8777. M-F 9:30AM-1PM & 1:30-4PM; Sa 8AM-9:30AM. (updated Oct 2019)

Go next

Routes through Centralia

Seattle ← Tumwater ←	N  S	→ Chehalis → Portland
Aberdeen ← Elma ←	W  E	→ Chehalis → Yakima
Seattle ← Lacey ←	N  S	→ Kelso → Portland