Traveling to Leavenworth from Seattle. Is it worth the trip? (Rainier: buy, theatre)

[E39white]

What to do in Leavenworth,WA?

Me and my buddies are driving up to Washington state from the Bay area. Othen than Seattle, what other cities ahoud we visit?

[StealthRabbit]

What do you and your buddies like to do?

Portland, Oregon Beaches, Colombia River Gorge, Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, Olympic Pennisula are all worthwhile side trips while 'on-the-way'

Leavenworth (German) is similar to Solvang, CA (Dutch), nice place to visit if you want to experience that type of thing (tourist centric).

Cities? I seldom visit cities, but Portland has a lot to experience, whatever your tastes.

[waviking24]

I wouldn't visit Leavenworth with my buddies if we were coming from out of town.

[Thom52]

Leavenworth with buddies?

Do you like to drink large amounts of alcohol, then wander the streets of a Bavarian themed town wearing a pricey weird hat, that you will never wear anywhere else, and eat bland, overpriced "German" food (braut variations), making a general fool out of yourself without anyone passing judgement? Then certainly.

Or if you like to hike, it has amazing hikes in the area. And the setting in mountains is very scenic.

I have been through that town often on the way to amazing hikes. I have spent a few nights there for early starts on hikes. It is a very odd, and extremely popular town. Traffic and parking can be a challenge.

I am very impressed by towns that can pull off this kind of thing. Leavenworth could have died off as a town due to remoteness and lack of jobs. Instead, they reinvented themselves, everyone got on board with a theme and a focus(hiking and Bavarian/Christmas) and have turned themselves into a thriving destination town. I have a lot of respect for that. Heck, I ended up retiring to a tourist trap and love it...even if it means putting up with the tourons.

[j_k_k]

Come on. Haven't you all secretly always wanted to see a Bavarian-themed Bank of America branch?

Being half German by ancestry, I always thought it was hilarious that Leavenworth woke up one day, realized all it had going for it was being confused with the town where Kansas has most of its major prisons, and decided to start playing Kraut.

By the way, that doesn't always work. There's a little town on the Columbia that Stealth knows well, Bingen. Well, see, there's also a Bingen-am-Rhein in what was then West Germany. So in the late 1970s the Founding Fathers and Mothers of Bingen, which had as its most prominent civic revenue source an extremely aggressive traffic enforcement aspect to its tiny police force, decided that they should milk that cow real hard. They did the sister city thing and gave the whole town a Full Krautification. Businesses opening up were strongly encouraged to play along with Germanized storefront names and decor; I remember selling yearbook ads over there and the clients telling me about it. (Leavenworth requires it by municipal code. Follow the motif, or no license for you.)

I was long gone from the area by the time they gave it up, but what happened is the sailboard came along and it turned out Bingen/Hood River was to sailboarding what Colorado is to skiing or Kansas is to wheat farming. Now ve nicht machen mit der Deutsche motif any more. Driving through, at least the last time I found myself in that position, there wasn't any remaining evidence of the whole thing.

[rantiquity]

Leavenworth is worth a first time visit especially in the winter (sking) and Oktoberfest. You don't even have to drive as I believe there is still a tourist train from Seattle.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by E39white

What to do in Leavenworth,WA?

Me and my buddies are driving up to Washington state from the Bay area. Othen than Seattle, what other cities ahoud we visit?

I actually did this on a visit about a year and a half ago. The food is overpriced, and not that great. There are a few shops with "real" stuff--high-quality imports. The rest, except for an interesting Russian shop, is awful. Do NOT go anywhere near a weekend (not even a Friday), or there will be no parking, and hordes of tourists, along with sad, anemic Bavarian oom-pah bands to entertain them. (I happened to get there as they were preparing for one of the Oktoberfest weekends. Trust me-- you DON'T want to be there, then! It's fake, kitschy, and lame, and extremely crowded.) The view of the mountains from town has been tarnished by forest fires. The main mountain close to town, that used to provide such a beautiful, forested view, is now covered with burned-out tree trunks and stumps. The Bavarian thing seems kind of cool at first, but gets old very fast.

OTOH, it's a nice drive from Seattle, and there are small mom-and-pop eateries to stop at on the way (or on the return back), and fresh pie places. It's a nice drive through the mountains. The destination isn't that big a deal, though. Leavenworth actually has a lot of potential; there could be more shops carrying high-quality traditional items, but for whatever reason, there aren't.

[jacqueg]

Originally Posted by E39white

What to do in Leavenworth,WA?

Me and my buddies are driving up to Washington state from the Bay area. Othen than Seattle, what other cities ahoud we visit?

Not much. Drink beer, eat mediocre food, buy schlock, maybe listen to oompah music, admire fake german architecture.

I'm gonna turn the question back on you - where did you get the idea to maybe visit Leavenworth? If you tell us why the idea intrigued you, maybe we could get more specific about alternatives. Because I can think of any number of places that would be more appealing, especially for a group of young single guys.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

You live in CA? Been to Solvang? That's Leavenworth. The mountains, woods & trails around it are nice, but there are lots of other places in WA that are better or as good for outdoor recreation.

If you want Oktoberfest, go to the real one in Munich.

[Jane917]

If visiting Leavenworth, be sure to check out the summer theatre and musical events at Sleeping Lady. Leavenworth is so much more than funny hats and beer, though some good breweries have opened. Lots of hiking, fishing, etc.