Want to feel like you walked into a Hallmark Christmas movie? The city girl visiting the small town that is obsessed with Christmas: Welcome to Leavenworth, Washington.
Even the story of Leavenworth sounds like a Hallmark movie plot. In the 1960’s a dying town decides to redesign their entire Main Street into a Bavarian Village to save it. The bright idea worked and the town now sees around 2.5 million visitors a year.
Walking down the street you’ll get whiffs of sauerkraut and gingerbread from nearby restaurants and bakeries. The buildings feel like a whimsical Disney version of Bavaria with a backdrop of mountains. It’s enchanting!
We stayed at the Howard Johnson which is within walking distance of the Main Street. It was older but clean. The room had a 1970’s style to it but the outside kept with the town’s Bavarian theme. In addition, if you like to travel with your fur friend they have pet friendly rooms here.
In 3 days I got 37,944 steps in. It was over 10k each day and that included several hours of driving on the first day. It is around a 5 hour drive from Portland, Oregon or a 2.5 hour drive from Seattle, Washington. The main activity on all three days was walking. There are so many cute touristy shops to roam through, there should be something for about everyone.
If you get tired of meandering through the town there are some other activities, you can find:
- Golfing: There is a golf course located in the center of town.
- Biking: There are several bike rental places if you want to mountain bike or leisure cycle.
- Hiking: There are several hikes close by. We hiked the Old Pipeline Trail. It is on the National Historic Register and is a fairly easy 2 miles. The parking lot was the site of an electric Powerhouse. There isn’t anything remaining of the structure but there is a sign in the parking lot that talks about it. The trail runs along side the Wenatchee river and Highway 2.
The best part of seeing this town during the holidays is the lights. Every single building on main street is decorated and lit through the Christmas season. So, if you saw the town during the daytime go back after dusk and get some more steps in.
And, just in case you get hungry after all that walking, here are some of our favorite restaurants:
- Whistlepunk Ice Cream Company: This little local place has both vegan and dairy options. We had Scoops of Carmel Apple Pie and Salted Caramel and it was worth every cent.
- The Gingerbread Factory: You may assume this place is just an Instagram hotspot, but the pastries were excellent. We had a German chocolate cookie and gingerbread cupcake (I may have ordered the cupcake just for the cream cheese frosting. It did not disappoint.).
- Colchuck’s: The sign says worth the climb, and it is. It is a second story restaurant that has lovely views of the town. We both ordered burgers (Burger of the Month and the Bacon Cheeseburger) and they were sooo good.
- Icicle Brewing: This place is a cute brew pub with outdoor and indoor seating. The food was good and if you enjoy beer there are a lot of options.
If you visit this place, I hope you find it as enchanting as I did.
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