Auburn, Washington: What to Do, Where to Eat and When to Go

Driving From Seattle: 32 Minutes When I-5 Cooperates

Auburn is 23.5 miles and about 32 minutes from Seattle by car. There are two main ways in. Take I-5 south and exit onto SR 18 east at Federal Way, or take I-405 to SR 167 south through Renton and Kent. SR 167 keeps going south to Sumner and Puyallup, and SR 164 runs southeast from Auburn to Enumclaw. Seattle Tacoma International Airport is less than 20 miles away, which makes Auburn a workable first or last night on a Mount Rainier trip.

Kent is the next city north on SR 167 and has its own Kent guide. Federal Way sits to the west on SR 18, and Bonney Lake is up the hill to the southeast.

Sounder: The Train Most Visitors Never Consider

The Sounder S Line stops at Auburn Station downtown, and the southbound run from Seattle’s King Street Station takes 27 minutes on the schedule in effect August 28, 2026 through March 28, 2027. The catch is that the S Line runs weekdays only, 13 trains each way, built around commute hours. A weekday visitor can ride down on the 7:55 AM train from King Street and catch the 4:34 PM or 5:43 PM back north from Auburn. Main Street is a couple of blocks north of the station, so a car free downtown day is realistic.

Getting Around Once You Are Here

Downtown is compact and easy on foot. Almost everything else, including Soos Creek Botanical Garden on Lea Hill, the Mary Olson Farm and the White River Amphitheatre, needs a car. Plan on driving between stops.

Pie Style: Ukrainian Pies and Piroshki on West Main

Pie Style is a family owned bakery at 20 W Main St built on Ukrainian family recipes. The case runs to whole pies, cakes, bread and piroshki in both savory and sweet versions, all baked in small batches. Get a savory piroshki to eat now and a whole pie for the drive home. It sits across Main Street from City Hall, so it pairs with anything downtown.

PNW Coffee CO: Coffee at the Train Station

PNW Coffee CO opened at Auburn Station, 110 2nd St SW, in 2019. It is women owned, and the business started in Algona under the name 2 Sisters Espresso. The shop leans hard into seasonal drink menus and decorations, and the salted caramel butter chai is the drink that comes up again and again in reviews. If you ride the Sounder down, this is your first stop. Street parking gets tight at busy hours.

Oddfellas Pub and Eatery: Schnitzel on Main Street Since 2010

Oddfellas opened on December 31, 2010 at 102 W Main St, and it runs a menu that mixes European and Irish pub food with American comfort food. Schnitzel and Irish nachos are the two things to know about. The house motto is “Relax, it’s a pub. Have a sense of humor!” It is the easy dinner answer after a day downtown.

Rainbow Cafe: The Downtown Diner With a Bar Open Until Midnight

Rainbow Cafe at 112 E Main St calls itself a tradition in Auburn, and it keeps diner hours that work for almost anybody: the kitchen runs 7 AM to 8 PM daily, and the bar stays open until midnight. The menu is straight diner food. The PDQ Luncheon Special, a cup of soup or salad with a half sandwich, is $10.59 on the current menu.

Bogey’s Public House: Weekend Breakfast at the Municipal Golf Course

Bogey’s Public House runs the dining room at Auburn Golf Course, 29630 Green River Rd SE. It serves lunch and dinner daily plus breakfast on weekends, with craft beer, cocktails and pub food: wings, sandwiches, nachos, wraps and grinders. You do not need to play golf to eat here, and the weekend breakfast is the move before a morning at Soos Creek Botanical Garden or a drive out to Flaming Geyser.

Flaming Geyser State Park: 23 Minutes to the Green River Gorge

Flaming Geyser State Park is 12.2 miles and about 23 minutes from Auburn, and it has an Auburn address. The honest news first: the geyser no longer flames, because the methane that fed it has run down. The Bubbling Geyser still bubbles, the Green River runs along more than three miles of park shoreline, and the paved Salmon Interpretive Trail is where to look for spawning salmon in season. A Discover Pass is required. Read the Flaming Geyser State Park directory page and our Exploring Flaming Geyser State Park story before you go.

Enumclaw: Farm Country 23 Minutes Up SR 164

Enumclaw is 14.6 miles and about 23 minutes from Auburn on SR 164, which runs past the White River Amphitheatre on the way. It is the last real town before SR 410 climbs toward Mount Rainier, and it pairs well with a Flaming Geyser morning.

Tacoma: A Short Drive or a Sounder Ride

Tacoma is 13.9 miles from Auburn by car. On a weekday you can also take the Sounder S Line south from Auburn Station to Tacoma Dome. Tacoma’s museums and waterfront make it the rainy day trip of this list.

Mount Rainier: Paradise Is the Play This Year

The drive from Auburn to the Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise is about 79 miles and two hours. Know this before you go: the park says Sunrise Road stays closed to private vehicles for the rest of the 2026 season because of the Grand Park fires, though White River Road and White River Campground reopened on September 5, 2026. Paradise is the reliable choice. Check our Mount Rainier National Park guide and the EWS travel conditions page before you leave.

Best Time to Visit Auburn: May Through Labor Day, Then November

Summer is when Auburn is fully switched on. Emerald Downs races from early May through Labor Day, the farmers market runs Sundays at Les Gove Park, and the White River Amphitheatre books its concerts. Then the town has a second peak in November for the Veterans Parade, which is worth planning a trip around on its own. Soos Creek Botanical Garden is open March through October, so fall works for the garden too.

What Is Closed or Changing in 2026 and 2027

Two things trip people up. The old Auburn Avenue Theater was demolished in 2024 after structural damage, and the city broke ground on a new 300 seat theater and downtown park in May 2026, with reopening expected in mid 2027. And the Mary Olson Farm opens to drop in visitors only on scheduled summer open days, so check the museum’s calendar before you drive out.

How Long to Stay

One full day covers downtown, the museum, a trail and dinner on Main Street. Stay a night if you are pairing Auburn with Flaming Geyser or a race day, or use it as the base for a Mount Rainier trip. Auburn is not a walk everywhere town outside downtown, so bring a car.