Leavenworth, Washington Christmas attractions bring people into the village from all over the world who are ready to celebrate the Christmas season. The village oozes Christmas spirit when you visit.
All of the businesses in the town have Bavarian style store fronts and are decorated in lights during Christmas time. The trees in the Front Street Park and throughout the village are aglow with lights for Christmas.
I had the pleasure of visiting Leavenworth just before Christmas last year. In this post, I want to share what I did while visiting for the day. I also want to give you tips on where you can fly into, places to stay, where to eat, and what are some other things that you can do to make your time in the village extra special.
If you need some more ideas of places to visit for Christmas, you can read my post “10 Places to Visit During Christmas Time.”
About Leavenworth
Leavenworth, Washington is located in the central part of the state in the Cascade Mountains. The town has a population of just under 2,300 people. As part of a civic initiative in the 1960s, the town was modeled after a German Bavarian village.
Ways to get to Leavenworth
Car
Seattle is the closest city to Leavenworth. It takes around 2.5 hours to drive to Leavenworth from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
There are two different routes that you can take from the airport to get to Leavenworth. First, you go across I-90 E to US 97 N. The other option is to go I-405 N to US 2 E. Both of the routes take about the same amount of time. You will want to check road closures before you pick a route to travel.
The next closest city to Leavenworth is Spokane. It takes just over 3 hours to drive from Spokane International Airport to Leavenworth.
To travel from the airport in Spokane to Leavenworth, you can take US 2 W or I-90 W to US 28 N. Both of these routes take about the same amount of time. Again, you will want to check for possible road closures before selecting a route.
Train
Amtrak has a train that runs from Seattle to Leavenworth all year round. The trip takes between 3 and 4 hours. The train from Spokane to Leavenworth takes around 4 hours.
Bus
There is bus service from Seattle and Spokane to Leavenworth each day via Northwestern Stages.
Renting a Car
If you rent a car, I would highly recommend that you rent a car that has all wheel or 4 wheel drive. You are going to drive over the mountains through Stevens Pass, if you fly into Seattle.
It didn’t snow on my way to Leavenworth but on my way back to Seattle it was snowing hard going through the pass. I was very happy that I had an all wheel drive vehicle.
I have three posts that can help you save money on rental cars. The first post is about how to find rental car deals. Another post is about using Costco Travel to rent cars and the final one is about using AutoSlash in helping to find cheap rental cars.
When Christmas starts in Leavenworth
Christmas activities in Leavenworth begin on Thanksgiving and continue through Christmas Eve. The lights in the village stay on through February.
There are other activities that occur after Christmas, such as the Winter Karneval. It occurs the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. During the Karneval, there are fireworks, ice sculptures and performers in the town.
Places to Stay
The ideal place to stay is right in Leavenworth. Since this is the prime season for the town, you will pay a premium if you do so. There are many different types of lodging in town, such as bed and breakfast, motels, hotels, lodges, condos and vacation rentals.
If you don’t want to fight traffic and have to fight for a parking spot, staying close to the center of town would be a good decision. Here are a few different places where you can stay.
- Hans and Frans Lodges– Located in the downtown area close to restaurants and shops.
- Bavarian Lodge– Located in the downtown area with suites and great views of the surrounding mountains.
- Obertal Inn– You can choose plain hotel rooms or up to a 3 bedroom suite. It is located one block from the action in the village.
- Enzian Inn– An authentic Austrian styled inn that is located a block from many shops and restaurants.
- Posthotel Leavenworth– A beautiful hotel and spa with breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. Definitely on the pricier side but a nice splurge if you’re looking to invest in your stay.
Staying in a nearby town is a great option, if you are looking to save money. I stayed in Wenatchee which is a 30 minute drive from Leavenworth. The cost of the hotel I stayed in was substantially cheaper than any hotel in Leavenworth.
Where to Park
Before going to Leavenworth, I read many articles talking about the difficulty in finding parking. There are private and public lots where you can pay for parking. I personally didn’t have an issue finding a free public lot to park.
The lot that I found was right beside the Argonaut Coffee & Biscuits restaurant. You can go to the city of Leavenworth’s page on parking to see where different lots are that you can choose.
How I Spent the Day in Leavenworth
You can’t do everything in the village in one day but these are the things that I did while I was there.
Eagle Creek Sleigh Rides
Eagle Creek Sleigh Rides take place at Eagle Creek Ranch which is 8 miles from downtown Leavenworth. After checking in, I enjoyed some hot cider in a room that had a wood burner and picnic tables to sit down on.
A short while later, we were pulled through pastures and the woods on the ranch in a sleigh that seats 12-15 people by the horses Freya and Metta. Our driver Jared shared about the ranch and told numerous dad jokes while on the ride. The ride lasted 30 minutes. It was a really good time and something I wouldn’t mind doing again.
Nutcracker Museum
I wasn’t sure about visiting the Nutcracker Museum but I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. The museum is located on Front St. It has over 9,000 nutcrackers from over 50 countries. You will see nutcrackers of all shapes and sizes. The cost to get into the museum is very reasonable. They also have a scavenger hunt that you can do while looking at all of the different nutcrackers.
Waterfront Park
A short walk from Front Street, you will find Waterfront Park. The park has a nice trail that follows along the Wenatchee River. It was a nice little respite for me in getting away from all of the hustle and bustle that occurs on Front Street.
Kris Kringl
There isn’t a better store located in Leavenworth that is more geared towards Christmas then the Kris Kingl store. The store contains two floors of gifts and home decor that are Christmas focused. It is worth a walkthrough even if you don’t buy anything.
Gingerbread Factory
The Gingerbread Factory is a great place to get a sweet treat. They have all kinds of cookies and cakes that you can buy. They have seating to eat in the bakery or you can take it to go. I got a chocolate chip cookie that was really tasty.
Listen to Music at the Gazebo
Located in the Front Street Park is a gazebo where choirs, bands, musicians, carolers, and more perform during the Christmas season. The night that I was in town a girl was playing guitar and singing. She was quite good and it was enjoyable to listen to.
Enjoy the Christmas Lights
If you love to look at Christmas lights, you are really going to enjoy Leavenworth. The village is known as the “Village of Lights” because Leavenworth is decorated with 500,000 Christmas lights. The lights are on 24/7 in the village but the village really shines when the sun goes down.
You can walk all through the village to see the lights but going down Front Street was the highlight for me. There is no traffic on the street and you have the stores and Front Street Park to enjoy.
Other Things to Do in Leavenworth
Leavenworth Reindeer Farm– At the farm, you can get up close and personal with the reindeer. There is an educational presentation about the herd and during Christmas time, kids can visit Santa.
Leavenworth Ski Hill– Located on the edge of town, the Leavenworth Ski Hill is where you can ski, ski jump, snowboard, nordic ski, fat biking and tube.
Icicle Center for the Arts– There are various shows that you can see at the center during the Christmas season.
Leavenworth Carriage Company– The Leavenworth Carriage Company offers carriage rides all year round in the downtown area.
Leavenworth Festhalle– Some of the activities at the Festhalle include: a gingerbread house exhibition, crafts for kids, story corner, photo opportunities, letters to Santa, hot cocoa and snacks and more.
Sled Ride in Front Street Park– There is a small hill located in the park that all ages can sled down.
Leavenworth Snowmobile Rentals– You can rent a snowmobile at Leavenworth Snowmobile Rentals. You can ride on their groomed trails or you can take a guided tour.
There are numerous events that occur in the village during Christmas time. You can click the link to see what they are and when they occur.
Places to Eat
Leavenworth has all kinds of restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, and diners to eat at. I would have loved to try them all but I obviously couldn’t. The following are the ones I did try.
Argonauts Coffee and Biscuits– The biscuit that I had was light and fluffy and one of the best I have ever eaten. I had a black coffee that was good. They also played 70s and 80s music which are my kind of tunes.
J5 Coffee– Stopped here for some hot chocolate. It was very tasty.
Icicle Brewing Company– Loved the industrial look to the building. They had fire pit tables outside to sit at and all kinds of seating inside. I got a large pretzel as a snack. It was a good but not great pretzel.
Munchen Haus– Unique experience sitting outside under a covered area with heaters above me. I had a sausage sandwich which was really good.
Some other highly rated restaurants
- ‘59 Diner– An old style diner with 50s memorabilia all over the diner.
- La Javelina– They offer a mix of Texan and Mexican dishes.
- Leavenworth Sausage Garten– German cuisine that has seating outside.
- Yodelin Broth Company– You can get soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers.
- Blewett Brewing Company– They serve salads and pizza.
- Bear Bear– Great place for brunch.
- Mana– A high end restaurant that serves a 7 course meal with locally sourced ingredients.
Final Thoughts
I hope that you have been inspired to go to Leavenworth to see all that it has to offer during Christmas time. I know I really enjoyed the time that I had in the village. As you can see, the town really goes all out when it comes to celebrating Christmas. Lord willing, I will be back to Leavenworth during the Christmas season.
I would love to hear from you, so if you have any questions or comments make sure to leave them.
You can also visit my blog Travelwidstom to learn ways to save on travel, travel itineraries, how to earn and maximize credit card points and miles and more.
