Leavenworth, WA
This little Bavarian Village style town, tucked away in central Washington is most know for their Christmas vibes in the winter. I would love to visit this town in the winter but getting there isn’t the easiest so I opted to visit in the Autumn and I was not disappointed. I will take you though where we stayed, what we ate, and some activities to do in Leavenworth, WA. We had some wildfire smoke the whole time we were there but hopefully next time we have no fires.
Where we stayed.
I have had this A-frame cabin on my wishlist for awhile now. When I found out we were going to head to Leavenworth, I had to book it. It is by far the coziest cabin I have stayed in. Its location was key for us and its pet friendly! This cabin is about 20 minutes from downtown Leavenworth and close to a lot of hiking trails. We had some unseasonably warm weather so we didn’t get to use the adorable wood burning fireplace but we did get to use the cedar hot tub. Click here to book this cabin.
Things to do
Downtown Leavenworth
This is the reason everyone visits this tiny but cute town. The whole town is a Bavarian Village. Every building is unique in its own way. There is so much food, shopping and of course beer in this town to explore. Make sure you stop and get a giant pretzel and beer at one of the local spots. I didn’t know this but there are pretzels at quite a few different stops.
My best tip I can offer, if you go on an event weekend like we did, arrive as early as possible if you don’t want a long walk from your car to the town. Free parking is really limited and anything else is about $20 for the day or metered. We were there for Oktoberfest.
Once we found parking, we explored Waterfront Park. It was so magical in a part of this park. Take a look at the last photo below, that was about center of this park. After we walked around quite a bit we decided it was time for libations. Our first drink and pretzel was at Ludwig’s German Restaurant. We walked around for a few more hours, looked at the shops then headed to Leavenworth Cider House. I got the cider flight and lets just say it was one of my highlights of this trip. You get to choose 5 out of 25 ciders that they had written up on a chalkboard when you enter for your flight. Later this night we went to Oktoberfest before heading back to the cabin.
Reindeer Farm
This farm is what drew me to Leavenworth and is the reason I know about this town. It is one of the best experiences anyone can offer with animals.
You must purchase your tickets online before you head down to play with the reindeer at Leavenworth Reindeer farm. I personally do not know anywhere else that will allow you to go into the pen and feed the reindeer.
They have a cute little gift shop that you get to shop before and after the reindeer. I bought some Christmas stuff already! Once its your tours turn, they sit everyone in the outdoor seating area where they give a quick introduction to the farms history and some reindeer knowledge. Then its off to play with the reindeer! Once in the pen, the reindeer walk right up to you and will eat out of your hand. The first reindeer that walked up to me was named Olaf. It was too fitting, he’s in the picture to the left. Olaf lost one of his antlers early so he’s rocking one for the rest of the season. I wish this farm was closer, because I would visit every month!
They also have other animals on the farm you can interact with. We saw some horses, cats, bunnies, chickens and turkeys. They all were roaming freely right where you enter the farm, except for the horses and bunnies.
Hikes
We only did one hike unfortunately. It was pretty smoky from two far enough away fires our whole trip. We didn’t think it was a great idea to explore to much outside.
We explored around the cabin, which is the picture to the left. We found this pretty bridge and Im a sucker for bridges with evergreens in sight. The only hike we did was Hidden Lake Trail. It was a really easy trail but it offered beautiful Autumn colors and a waterfall.
If I head back up to Leavenworth, more hikes will be a must. Hopefully there won’t be any fires.
