Kelso

Kelso is a city in the Southwest Washington region of Washington State.

Get in

By car

• Interstate 5: Kelso is located just off of I-5 and is accessed from Exits #39 (Allen St/Kelso) & 40 (N Kelso Ave) from the northbound lanes. Most of the services for food, gasoline and lodging are located off of Exit #39 while the Exit #40 accesses a local residential district north of town.
• Allen St: Goes through town from I-5 as Allen St to 5th Ave N (WB) & 4th Ave N (EB). It becomes Ocean Beach Hwy west of its intersection with Washington Way, west of town. SR-4 connects Longview/Kelso to the coast (Long Beach & Astoria) along the Washington side of the Columbia River.
• Washington Way Local boulevard that connects West Kelso to Longview.

By train

• 1 Kelso station, 501 S 1st St (located in downtown Kelso). The train station for twin towns of Kelso and Longview, and for Rainier, OR on the other side of the Columbia River. (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 Kelso:
    • 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

The 1 Kelso 'Amtrak/Greyhound' Transit Center serves as a bus station for River Cities Transit, Greyhound and other regional bus companies serving adjacent Columbia County, Oregon and Wahkiakum County, Washington. It is located along 1st Ave S between Ash & Pine St, next to the Amtrak Station in downtown Kelso:

• 2 Greyhound, (bus stop) Kelso Station at 501 S 1st St (Ticket desk closed. Bus at first bus stop next to and closest to the Kelso Station building.), toll-free: +1-800-231-2222. Travels primarily on Interstate 5 between Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Centralia, Kelso/Longview and Portland.  
• Wahkiakum on the Move, (office & bus garage) 42 Elochoman Valley Rd, Cathlamet, WA 98612, ☏ +1 360 795-6212. Bus to Rockets Diner in Naselle, WA via Cathlamet, WA (major town and county seat) in neighboring Wahkiakum County, along Hwy 4. 'Wahkiakum on the Move' has additional local stops in the Kelso-Longview area for pick-up and drop off. Connections to Pacific Transit Rt #50 to Ilwaco, Astoria and South Bend at Rockets Diner in Naselle. (updated Sep 2020)
• River Cities Transit, ☏ +1 360 442-5663. Local city buses to Three Rivers Mall, Longview and around town with the following: (updated Sep 2020)

• 44 Three Rivers Mall, Kelso 'Amtrak/Greyhound' Transit Center, Triangle Center and Heron Point via Ocean Beaches Way (SR-4). Goes by the RA Long Square (Central Park) in Longview on the eastbound trip towards Three Rivers Mall.
• 45 Three Rivers Mall, Kelso 'Amtrak/Greyhound' Transit Center, RA Long Square (Central Park), Mark Morris HS/Triangle Center, Longview Transit Center. Connections to Longview on the other side of the Cowlitz River.
• 57 Local bus within Kelso proper on the east side of the Cowlitz River including stops to Three Rivers Mall and Kelso 'Amtrak/Greyhound' Transit Center.

• Lewis County Transit 'Purple Line', (bus stop) Safeway at Three Rivers Mall. M-F 6AM-7PM every 2 hours. Express bus to Centralia via Castle Rock P&R at exit 49; Shell Station (642 SR-505) at exit 63; and 'Energy Station' (172 US Hwy 12) at exit 68. Passengers transfer in Centralia to reach Chehalis and Olympia. (updated Oct 2022)

See

Mount St. Helens

Buy

• 1 Three Rivers Mall, 351 Three Rivers Dr (SW of Allen and its junction with I-5 (Exit #39).). Daily 11AM-8PM. Three Rivers Mall hosts Regal Cinemas, JCPenney, Planet Fitness, Kelso Public Library, Sportsman Warehouse and numerous other shops & restaurants inside the mall and in several free standing establishments surrounding the mall (Target, Safeway, Pier 1 Imports, GuestHouse Kelso/Lonview (see 'sleep' in below), among others). An episode of the Food Network show Food Court Wars was filmed in the mall. The episode titled Gaufre Gourmet vs. Pressed originally aired on March 30, 2014. (updated Sep 2020)
• 2 Strip Mall on 200-236 S Kelso Dr, 200-236 S Kelso Dr (SE of Allen and its junction with I-5 (Exit #39), along S Kelso Dr, opposite side of the freeway from Three Rivers Mall.). Hours vary by tenant/store. This smaller mall hosts Wilco Farm Store, Dollar Tree, Rite Aid, Subway, Boost Mobile, etc. in the mall itself, fronting a large parking lot. There are other free standing establishments closer to S Kelso Dr such as McDonald's,Shari's, Super 8, etc in front of or next to this mall. (updated Sep 2020)
• 3 Triangle Center, 1015 Ocean Beach Hwy. Hours vary by tenant/store. Southwest of the intersection of Ocean Beach Hwy (SR-4) & Washington Way (in a large triangular shaped lot). Triangle Center hosts Bed Bath & Beyond; Michaels, Maurices, Petco, Ross Dress for Less, Ulta, WinCo Foods and numerous other shops, banks & restaurants in the mall and in the immediate surrounding areas not part of the mall (Taco Bell, Sizzlers, Stuffy's, among others) along Ocean Beach Hwy & Washington Way. Unlike a traditional mall where everything is under one big roof, in a single building, this mall consists of several smaller buildings spread further out from each other in a huge parking lot. (updated Sep 2020)

Sleep

Except the Best Western most of the listed hotels in the below are located 2 mi (3.2 km) NW of town at Allen & I-5 (Exit #39) surrounding the Three Rivers Mall and the other mall at 200-236 S Kelso Dr on the east side of the freeway:

• 1 Best Western Aladdin Motor Inn, 310 Long Ave (at Cowlitz Way), ☏ +1 360 425-9660, fax: +1 360 577-9436. 
• 2 Comfort Inn & Suites, 440 Three Rivers Dr (Across parking lot from Regals Cinema at the S/SE side of Three Rivers Mall), ☏ +1 360 425-4600, fax: +1 360 423-0762. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. (updated Sep 2020)
• 3 Motel 6 Kelso - Mt St Helens, 106 Minor Rd (at Allen St), ☏ +1 360 425-3229, fax: +1 360 423-4650. 
• 4 GuestHouse International Inn & Suites, 501 Three Rivers Dr (next to the Three Rivers Mall), ☏ +1 360 414-5953, fax: +1 360 414-5942. 
• 5 Red Lion Inn Kelso Longview, 510 S Kelso Dr, ☏ +1 360 636-4400. (updated Sep 2020)
• 6 Sleep Inn Kelso Longview, 250 S Kelso Dr, ☏ +1 360-200-7410. 

Connect

• 1 Kelso Public Library, Three Rivers Mall at 351 Three Rivers Dr Suite 1263 (Library located inside Three Rivers Mall, across mall corridor from Planet Fitness, near JCPenney.), ☏ +1 360 423-8110. M-F 10AM-8PM; Sa 10AM-6PM. (updated Sep 2020)
• 2 Kelso Post Office (US Postal Service (USPS)), 304 Academy St (3rd Ave N & Academy St), ☏ +1 360 578-0234. M-F 8:30AM-5PM. (updated Sep 2020)

Go next

Routes through Kelso

Seattle ← Chehalis ←	N  S	→ Woodland → Portland
Naselle ← Longview ←	W  E	→ END
Seattle ← Centralia ←	N  S	→ Vancouver → Portland