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Federal Way is a city in King County in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. It is the home of the Pacific Bonsai Museum and Rhododendron Species Botanical Gardens. With a population of 96,000 (2016), Federal Way is one of Seattle's largest suburbs.

Understand

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Federal Way is home to the world headquarters of Weyerhaeuser and World Vision.

Tourist information

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Get in

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Federal Way is less than 10 miles south of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It is on Interstate 5 and reaches to Puget Sound.

By car

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  • Interstate 5 (I-5) Federal Way is accessed from exits #142 A & B("SR 18/S 348th St") through #147 ("S 272nd St") along I-5. There are four exits from I-5 into town. The Federal Way Commons (closest thing to a 'downtown') can be accessed from Exit #143 ("S 320th St") from both directions of I-5. The S 317th St exit & merge lanes (accessed from the left lanes of both directions) are restricted to carpools (2 or more) and buses. Nearest for other users is through S 320th.
  • Pacific Highway S passes through town as Pacific Hwy from Kent/Des Moines in the north and Fife in the south. It runs parallel to I-5 with multiple stores, restaurants, malls and motels along the road. SR-99 provides direct connection between Federal Way and the airport in Sea-Tac where it becomes International Blvd.
  • State Route (SR) 18 into S 348th St Connects Federal Way and I-5 corridor to the I-90 corridor near Snoqualmie (Exit 25 of I-90) through Auburn, Covington, Maple Valley and Issaquah. SR-18 ends at its junction with I-5 and becomes S 348th west of the I-5 corridor in Federal Way. It is the shortest way to reach Snoqualmie Pass and anywhere east via I-90 from Federal Way, Tacoma and anywhere south along I-5 WITHOUT going into Seattle or Bellevue.
  • Enchanted Pkwy S Connects Federal Way to Mount Rainier via Edgewood, Puyallup, South Hill and Graham in Pierce County. It goes through town as Enchanted Pkwy S which becomes 16th Ave S north of its intersection with S 348th. It ends at its intersection with SR-99 at S 340th Pl.
  • SW Dash Point Dr/East Side Dr Connects the SR-99 corridor at the 29700 block into downtown Tacoma via Dash Point State Park and Port of Tacoma Tideflats / Fife. It goes around Federal Way through local residential neighborhoods offering a scenic drive and views of the Sound in some places. Going north from the 29700 block, SR-509 runs concurrent with SR-99 to its intersection with Kent Des Moines Hwy (SR-516) in Des Moines. It is Dash Point Dr in Federal Way and becomes East Side Dr in NE Tacoma.

By bus

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For intercity bus service outside of the region, travel to Seattle or Tacoma.

Get around

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By car

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Federal Way's street designation is a continuation of King County's street designation system in South Seattle (S) and West Seattle (SW), beginning at 1st Ave S & Yesler in Seattle. The major roads are somewhat in a grid, with north-south roads called Avenues that suffix the directional and east-west roads being Streets that prefix the directional. There are occasional irregularities: Ways are long roads that don't always conform to the grid, Drives are long, circuitous routes, and there are the very short Place or Court that dead ends on one end of the road. Most roads are numbered with a few that are named.

Federal Way lies approximately between S 272nd St (27200 block) and S 373rd St (37300 block) south of Seattle (Yesler), which run east and west. 1st Ave S (goes north-south) divides 'South' (east of 1st) from 'Southwest' (west of 1st) as it goes from S 291st St (29100) at Redondo Beach to S 368th St (36800) as a major throughfare. It does not connect Federal Way to Seattle. Roads south of the King-Pierce County line, south of Federal Way, change to a Northeast (NE) directional (in the suffix) which is based on Tacoma's directional system as that part of town is in Tacoma but is closer and more connected to Federal Way then it is to Tacoma. The house numbers decrease from south to north; and from the east and from the west towards 1st Ave S.

By public transit

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The transportation hub (bus station) in Federal Way is the 1 Federal Way Transit Center on South 317th St and 23rd Ave S. The FWTC offers routes with service to Sea-Tac Intl. Airport (A, 574); Downtown Seattle (177,577,578); First Hill (193); Univ of Washington in the U-District (586); Tacoma (500,501,586,574); Puyallup (402,578); Auburn (181, 578).

  • King County Metro, ☏ +1 206-553-3000. Operates bus, streetcar, and monorail routes in King County. Communities within the county served by this operator's routes include Auburn, Bellevue, Bothell, Burien, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Mercer Island, North Bend, Redmond, Renton, SeaTac, Seattle, Shoreline, Tukwila, Vashon Island, White Center, and Woodinville. King County Metro (Q6411393) on Wikidata King County Metro on Wikipedia (updated Jun 2023) Offers local bus service on the following routes:
    • 177 Express bus to Downtown Seattle via I-5 during weekday peak hours only. At other times use 577 or 578 buses.
    • 181 Twin Lakes P&R, Federal Way, Outlet Collection Seattle, Auburn, Green River College. Goes down towards Twin Lakes P&R via S 320th & 21st Ave S
    • 182 Northeast Tacoma, South Federal Way, Federal Way Transit Center.
    • 183 Federal Way, Camelot neighborhood, and Star Lake towards Kent.
    • 187 Federal Way Transit Center, Twin Lakes via S 320th, 47th SW/Hoyt Rd, etc
    • 193 Express bus to First Hill in Seattle via I-5 during weekday peak hours only. At other times use 577 or 578 buses to downtown Seattle.
    • DART 901 Federal Way, Mirror Lake
    • DART 903 South Federal Way, Twin Lakes
    • RapidRide Line A operates frequently to Tukwila, including the airport, from Federal Way Transit Center on Pacific Hwy/International Blvd (Hwy 99)
  • Pierce Transit offers additional local service to areas south of S 320th on their way into Pierce County.
    • 402 Travels along Meridian (via multiple stops) from the Federal Way Transit Center to Puyallup through Milton.
    • 500 Continues south from Federal Way to downtown Tacoma on Pacific Hwy (Hwy 99) through Fife.
    • 501 Goes down towards Tacoma through Edgewood, Milton, and Fife on different turns onto various roads.
  • Sound Transit, toll-free: +1-888-889-6368. Has regional public transit routes including Sounder trains, Link light rail, and express bus in King County (e.g. Bellevue, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, Seattle), Snohomish County (e.g. Everett, Lynnwood), and Pierce County (e.g. Puyallup, Tacoma). Sound Transit (Q3965367) on Wikidata Sound Transit on Wikipedia (updated Jun 2023) Bus routes serving Federal Way include:

You'll probably want a car to get around more quickly.

See

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The City of Federal Way has a huge population of Korean Americans and used to host the annual Hanwoori Korean Festival, which was a huge event sponsored by the City of Federal Way, Washington State, and various business organizations.

  • 1 Pacific Bonsai Museum, 2515 S 336th St. Tu-Su 10AM-4PM. An outdoor museum of living art with more than 50 outstanding bonsai trees elegantly displayed in a beautiful woodland setting. Free tours Sunday at 1PM. donation suggested. (updated Jul 2019)
  • 2 Rhododendron Species Botanical Gardens, 2525 S 336th St, ☏ +1 253-838-4646, . Tu-Su 10AM-4PM. Over 10,000 rhododendrons grow in a beautiful woodland setting covering 22 acres. The garden displays over 700 species native to four continents. $8/adult, $5/concession, free for children/military. (updated Jul 2019)

Do

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Buy

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Federal Ways's main shopping "district" is the Pacific Highway (SR-99) corridor from S 272nd to S 356th and along S 320th from I-5 to Pacific Hwy. It consists of a variety of small stores, small strip malls, large malls and small standalone restaurants along the road. The closest thing to a "downtown" is the area bounded by Pacific Hwy in the west, S 324th on the south, I-5 on the east and S 312th in the north. This area consist of The Federal Way Commons, a variety of strip malls, standalone stores/restaurants, hotels and the Federal Way Transit Center (bus station) separated from each other by massive parking lots.

  • 1 The Commons (The Commons at Federal Way), 1928 S Commons, ☏ +1 253 275-3303. Amazon Fresh, Century Theatres, Dick's Sporting Goods, Famous Footwear, Five Guys, Kohl's, Target, etc. This mall is where the first Cinnabon opened. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 2 Pavillion I, 31217-31523 Pacific Hwy S (Strip mall along west side of Pacific Hwy between S 312th St & 316th.). Large strip mall location for H-Mart, Hallmark Creations, Joann, Barnes Noble, Party City, Petco, 85c Bakery, Pho Tai, Taco Bell, etc. (updated Feb 2022)
  • 3 H-Mart, 31217 Pacific Hwy S (North Anchor of the Pavilion Mall at Pacific & S 312th St.), ☏ +1 253 528-0500. Large market for Asian groceries and other imported goods. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 4 Pavillion II, 31601-31835 Pacific Hwy S (SW of the intersection of Pacific & S 316th. Between 316th & 320th.). Large strip mall location for Best Buy, Office Depot, Papa Murphy's, Pet Smart, Sole Perfection Shoes, Trappers Sushi, Chipotle, Tokyo Steakhouse, Village Inn, etc. (updated Feb 2022)
  • 5 Federal Way Crossings, 35009 Pacific Hwy S (SE of the intersection of Pacific Hwy and S 348th. Between Pacific Hwy and 16th Ave S/Enchanted Pkwy (SR-161)). LA Fitness/Esporta, Office Depot, Sportsman's Warehouse, McDonald's, Starbucks, Blue Island Sushi & Roll, Panda Express, etc (updated Feb 2022)
  • 6 Campus Square, 34900 Enchanted Pkwy S. Costco, Hobby Lobby, Seattle Children's South Clinic, Popeye's, Olive Garden, Mattress Depot USA, etc. (updated Feb 2022)

Eat

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Federal Way is best known for its Korean cuisine, thanks to the high concentration of Korean Americans living in the city.

Recommended Korean restaurants:

  • Mirak, Shin Sung

Recommended Japanese restaurants:

  • Akasaka, Koharu

Drink

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Sleep

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Jct I-5 and S 320th St

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Jct I-5 and S 348th St

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Connect

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The area code for the Federal Way and South King County is 253.

By mail

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  • 4 Federal Way Post Office (US Postal Service), 32829 Pacific Hwy S, ☏ +1 253. M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa 9AM-1PM. Serving zip code 98003. A convenient place to mail gifts to someone or mail your purchases back home after shopping. (updated Feb 2022)
  • 5 Twin Lakes Post Office (US Postal Service), 1815 SW Campus Dr, ☏ +1 253. M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa 9AM-1PM. Serving zip codes 98023 and 98422 (updated Feb 2022)

Go next

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Routes through Federal Way
Seattle ← Kent ←  N  S  → Fife → Portland
END ←  W  E  → Auburn → Snoqualmie
Seattle ← SeaTac ←  N  S  → Fife → Tacoma via
Burien ← Des Moines ←  N  S  → Fife → Tacoma


This city travel guide to Federal Way is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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