Leavenworth Travel Information
If you're hanging for a trip to Bavaria but can't swing the time off,
stop in for sausages and sauerkraut in Leavenworth, 'Washington's
Bavarian Village'. Located in the dramatic hills of central Washington,
the city is a popular destination not only for its cuisine, its
atmospheric architecture, and the flowers that line streets of shops
during the spring and summer, but also the range of outdoor activities
available year-round. While views from town may be of the Cascade Range
instead of the Dolomites, Leavenworth offers the closest thing to an
Alpine village this side of the Atlantic. Peruse a variety of shops
catering to tourists, play a round of golf, then escape out of town for
a white-knuckle rafting trip down class IV rapids on the Wenatchee
River, or kick back on an inner tube for a float down a more sedate
stretch of the Icicle River. Land-based visitors can follow paved roads
for a day of peaceful peddling, with plenty of rugged off-road stuff
accessible when the time comes to test out your shocks -- rent bikes
(and repair them) in town if you didn't think to bring your own. There
are 700 miles of forest service hiking trails that range in length and
difficulty lacing the surrounding hills; for overnight hikes, head west
out of town to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, or head up steep
Dirtyface Trail for a view out over Lake Wenatchee. As one of the
nation's top climbing destinations, expect to find a stone's throw from
town plenty of places to enjoy an uphill scramble; if granite cliffs
don't rock your world try instead a horseback adventure, a wagon ride
or alazy day of fly fishing on the Icicle River.
Come winter snows, the hills are alive with the sound of
cross-country skiers swishing along groomed trails. For a quicker trip,
Stevens Pass Ski Area has the slopes and the lifts, but also the
crowds. Organize a backcountry ski or snowshoe trip in Leavenworth for
some powder time away from the populous,or consider a spin on a dog sled or Christmas sleigh ride.
Leavenworth is just 77 miles east of Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport, 74 miles northwest of Moses Lake and 71 miles
north of Yakima.
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