We are staying a few days in Seattle then driving up to Vancouver for the rest of our stay. Leavenworth appears to be 2 hours out of our way, but it looks very quaint. If you've spent any time there, I'd welcome hearing about your experience. We were in Germany a few years back and enjoyed Bavaria, so we were wondering how authentic or at least entertaining this town would be. Thanks!

We have spent lots of time in and around Leavenworth. There is quite a bit to do in the area. What time of you will you be there?

In town, we stay at Pension Anna. The location is nice as it is on a quiet street, yet walkable to everything.

Most of the time though we rent homes in the nearby vicinity. Lots of them up around Ski Hill or on Icicle Creek Road.

I like the town, but you can easily cover it in a day, the shops and such. Blackbird Island, which is right in town, down by the river, is a nice area to walk, and in the summer on a hot day it is nice to cool off in the water there. In the winter we take our snowshoes downthere.

The theater is good...in the summer they do The Sound of Music, and in the winter they do various holiday plays. Lots of festivals, some of which result in the town being mobbed. Excellent hiking and skiing all around, rafting, biking...pretty much all sorts of outdoor activities.

A good website for the town and all the events, is www.leavenworth.org.

I suggest we give him 12 years in Leavenworth, or 11 years in twelveworth. I tell you what, I take 5 and 10 in Woolworth. "
-- Groucho Marx

Aduchamp,

I thought Leavenworth, KS too. You can bet that Leavenworth, WA is a whole lot better than Leavenworth, KS. I worked two years at Ft. Leavenworth. I always tell people I did my time...

I am sure there is a big difference between the two, I just could not pass up the opportunity for a cheap joke.

If you enjoyed Bavaria, Leavenworth is a nice "mini" filler. I don't remember it as being very large. Certainly no castles ; )
We were there around Christmas/New Years so it was very nice with the snow etc. Had great German food. We enjoyed it. We have also been to Germany. My husband's family is from Germany and he really liked Leavenworth.

Leavenworth is a good place to stop when driving the Cascade Loop, but it is faux Bavarian--a lumber mill town that died and resurrected itself with a Bavarian theme.

If you like the Bavarian Village in Bush Gardens, Williamsburg, you'll probably like Leavenworth.

Your time might be better spent elsewhere, such as on Whidbey Island visiting Langley and Coupeville on your way to Vancouver.

If you like Solvang, you'll like Leavenworth. Both are faux-European villages, with lots of shopping, restaurants and bakeries.

Also, if you happened to watch the 90's TV show "Northern Exposure", you might want to stop off in Roslyn along the way to Leavenworth. NX exteriors were filmed in Roslyn.

Leavenworth is more than two hours out of your way. Try Google maps for a realistic view. You can go up the Interstate to Everett, and then over highway 2 to Leavenworth, or you can take I-90 east out of Seattle to its junction with highway 97 north to Leavenworth. Either way, you will be on two-lane mountain highways for a good portion of the trip. Scenic but not fast. In your situation I would be more inclined to stay overnight in Leavenworth than I would be in trying to include it in a trip to Vancouver.

I agree with Bobmrg, that one way to make this trip a little more worthwhile would be to drive to Leavenworth over Snoqualmie Pass (I-90) and Blewett Pass (97), and then to Everett and Vancouver over Stevens Pass (2). With this routing, the drive to Leavenworth would be about 2.5 hours and the drive from Leavenworth to Vancouver would be about 4 hours, not including the time it takes to get through immigration at the border.