Visit Leavenworth, Washington in 2 Days: Bavarian Village + Lake Wenatchee

We took a weekend to visit Leavenworth, Washington (in the summer), an adorable German/Bavarian village in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. We had some delicious food, some beer, experienced German culture, and went on a few hikes. Plus, we traveled to Lake Wenatchee — a beautiful lake only 30 minutes from Leavenworth.

Have you been to Leavenworth, Washington? What did you think?

Leavenworth, Washington is in an area originally established by the Wenatchi and Yakama indigenous tribes and is located near where Icicle Creek and Wenatchee River meet.

The area was first settled by non-natives in the late 19th century, and the Great Northern Railway purchased land in the area in 1892. Leavenworth was established in 1893, and had nearly 1,000 residents that same year, plus 40 businesses - with the major industry being timber.

In 1925, the railroad relocated to nearby Wenatchee, but this greatly affected the Leavenworth economy and the population began to decline as lumber mills closed. It wasn't until 1962 that a committee was formed to investigate how best to improve the economy of Leavenworth. The committee came up with an idea to create a Bavarian/Swiss alpine theme, and used the Danish-themed town of Solvang, California as their guide. Numerous investors began renovations and even new construction that same year and in 1970, they held their first themed festival.



__________________________________________

Double Polka by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Four Beers' Polka by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...