Boise · the midpoint
Boise is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County. The population of the city was 235,685 at the 2020 census. Read more →
Meet halfway between Portland and Salt Lake City
The fair place to meet is Boise, ID — the city closest to the midpoint of Portland and Salt Lake City. From the farther side that’s about 7 hr 14 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Boise, ID
From Portland
7 hr 14 min
345 mi to Boise
From Salt Lake City
6 hr 12 min
296 mi to Boise
Salt Lake City has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 1 hr 2 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Portland and Salt Lake City are about 635 miles apart.
More meetups from Portland
Meeting in Boise
Portland and Salt Lake City are about 635 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Boise, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 7 hr 14 min of driving on the Portland side and 6 hr 12 min on the Salt Lake City side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Boise suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Boise doesn't have what you're after, Sacramento and Seattle are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Portland and Salt Lake City.
About the cities
Portland
Portland is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in the Pacific Northwest at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, it is the 28th-most populous city in the United States, sixth-most populous on the West Coast, and… Read more →
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Questions
- Where is the halfway point between Portland and Salt Lake City?
- Boise, ID is closest to the geographic midpoint, which makes it the fairest place to meet.
- How far apart are they?
- About 635 miles by road.
- How long is the drive to meet in the middle?
- Roughly 7 hr 14 min from the farther city to Boise.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.