Road Trip to Leavenworth, Washington

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Leavenworth is a charming little German town nestled in the northern Cascade Mountains in Washington state. This Bavarian style village has lots of unique little shops and restaurants for you to enjoy. It’s a popular weekend road trip destination from the Seattle area, but can also make for a great day trip if you are short on time.

If you find yourself in the Seattle area, this is one road trip I definitely recommend you take. Located just over 2 hours from the downtown Seattle area, this 135 mile road trip takes you through the beautiful Cascade mountains, making for a scenic drive. You can reach Leavenworth by either taking the I-90 SE towards Snoqualmie Pass, or head north on the 405 towards Monroe, before following Highway 2 to the village. Either route offers amazing mountain views. It’s actually quite common for people to take one way up, and the other way home, so you are able to experience both routes on your trip. I personally prefer the I-90 route through Snoqualmie, one because it offers better scenery, and two because the 405 highway is often times a mess with traffic and accidents. 


Leavenworth is also a popular weekend road trip, with many beautifully decorated Bavarian style hotels. However, if you’re short on time, Leavenworth also makes for a great day trip as well.

The tourism department for Leavenworth also does an amazing job running events year-round, which helps encourage tourism. This means that on a given weekend, you will most-likely have some sort of fun event to enjoy. You can also visit the official Leavenworth website for a list of their upcoming events, and plan a trip based on the days that events are happening.

During the winter months they put on a spectacular Christmas village of lights display, while offering events like Leavenworth Alphorns, and glassblowing events . If you have never watched glassblowing before, you should. It’s really amazing to see the work and detail put into this craft by the Glass blowers.  

Leavenworth is also a really fun destination during Oktoberfest. If you go in October, you can attend their Oktoberfest festivals, along with a Yodeling contest, and the community farmers market for some unique local treats.

Fun fact: Leavenworth also has a Reindeer Farm that is open to the public year-round. They offer a Christmas in July event, where you get to meet baby reindeer, along with Santa for a $25. They also offer a reindeer farm experience for $25-40. I personally got to meet reindeer while in Leavenworth for the first time, and it was an amazing experience. The Leavenworth reindeer are charming, cute and curious, and just amazing to see in person. And let’s be honest, when are you ever going to get a chance to meet a real life reindeer?

Leavenworth also has an amazing Alpine Coaster that winds around the mountainside just outside of Leavenworth. If you’re a bit of a thrill seeker, this is a great add on attraction while in town.

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