Leavenworth Weekend Getaway
A couple of weeks ago, to celebrate the end of summer and and to get away from the city, I took a weekend trip to Leavenworth, WA. For those of you not familiar with the area, it is a quaint German town 2 hours outside of Seattle. It’s a city full of activities year round: the famous Christmas lighting in the winter, tubing along the river in the summer, flowers blooming in the spring for a scenic hikes, and colorful leaves surrounding the village for Oktoberfest in the fall.
During our quick trip, here were some of the highlights that I’d recommend for your next trip!
River Tubing along Wenatchee River
Tubing along the Wenatchee river is a 2 mile stretch that lasts about 2 hours. If you don’t have your own tubes, there are a number of companies like Leavenworth Outdoor Center where you can rent tubes and they will transport you from a parking lot to the floating spot (costs $25-28/person).
If you have your own tubes, which is what our group did, you can park along the river (drive along Commercial St, past the main village for about 5 minutes, you will see a bridge that goes over the river — park anywhere around the bridge). Right below the bridge is where people can enter the river and begin floating!
FOOD TO EAT AT THE VILLAGE
For traditional Bavarian food, Andreas Keller is the place to go! This is where you will find Schweinshaxe, which is pork hock and they have limited quantities daily. I’ve also tried their Bavarian Beef Goulash, which just melts in your mouth! This place is a must visit and there is typically a 2 hour wait (they don’t take reservations), so I would recommend putting your name down when you first arrive at the village and spend time exploring as you wait. Our group went to play putt-putt at the Icicle Village as we waited.
If you have a sweet tooth like me, Whistlepunk Ice Cream is the perfect place to go for your cravings! It was so good that I got it both days we were in town — I tried the vanilla bean and blackberry fool!
FRUIT PICKING
Just 30 minutes away from Leavenworth, you can find yourself in Wenatchee, the “Apple Capitol of the World”. We took a trip to Wenatchee up to Trader John’s and got ourselves some fresh fruit and ate them while sitting among the orchards. If you are in a rush or want to stay in Leavenworth, there are plenty of fruit stands right by the village and you can’t go wrong with any of them! While we didn’t have time this time around, you will also see many vineyards along the drive if you’d like to stop for some wine or cider tasting!
Whether it’s a day trip or weekend trip, I always enjoy my time in Leavenworth and can’t wait until I get to go back! If you have any recommendations ofor my next visit, leave them in the comments below!
xo Kerstin