Leavenworth, Washington

Our first trip to Leavenworth was in March 2018. I was in Spokane for a work trip, and Donovan and I had it planned out that once the work part of the trip was complete, I’d fly from Spokane to Seattle (about a 30 minute flight), and Dono would fly up from Dallas, so we could spend a long weekend in one of our favorite PNW locations. Coincidentally, it was also a holiday weekend – Easter – so we weren’t expecting a ton of action. We just wanted to spend some time admiring the beautiful scenery.

We called my parents one night to touch base, and we told them that we had no idea what we would be doing for Easter morning, because it seemed like everything in Seattle would be closed. My mom recommended we take a drive and check out Leavenworth. She told us it was a small German-like town a few hours from Seattle, and she remembered her parents driving her family through there when she was a little girl. I had also heard about Leavenworth from some work friends that live in Spokane and have recommended beers from some of the breweries there. Well…Donovan likes bratwursts, I like pretzels, and we both like beer and all things European, so we figured we’d go check it out. Thus, began our love affair with Leavenworth.

Leavenworth is about a 2 hour drive from downtown Seattle and about 3 hours from Spokane, so it makes for a good weekend escape for most folks living in Washington.

On our first trip to Leavenworth, we decided to take the drive north through Gold Bar, Skykomish, and Steven’s Pass. Not knowing what to expect, and of course, not doing any research before hand, we saw the weather in Leavenworth was chilly, but not freezing, so we both dressed pretty lightly expecting blue skies and gorgeous weather.

Welp. We were wrong. As we were driving up into the mountains, we would randomly see small snowflakes here and there. We started to laugh thinking that we would actually get to see some snow ….. amateurs!

We turned a corner at some point, and legit drove straight into a white out blizzard near Steven’s Pass!

Of course we had rented a little dinky economy clown car, so we were a bit nervous driving through the snow and ice. I couldn’t stop laughing though, because Donovan was literally wearing shorts and we had no cold weather clothes. I kept praying that we’d make it to the other side of the mountain without getting stranded because Lord knows we’d never make it in our Texan attire.

One of our favorite places to drink (and eat) is Icicle Brewing Company. What’s awesome about Icicle is that the ingredients for their beers are locally sourced, including the water which comes from Icicle Creek! We always stop and get pretzels and beer there. My favorite beer is Dark Persuasion – a German Chocolate Cake beer! Yes, that is a thing! I’ve also tried the Cider which is really good, too. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of them.

The little town of Leavenworth is just simply adorable. All of the buildings are designed with the Bavarian look, so it’s easy to forget you’re in the United States. The mountains in the background also give it a very European vibe.

We always love walking up and down the streets of Leavenworth and doing some shopping and checking out what’s on the menu at each restaurant.

Some of our favorite stores in Leavenworth:

Kris Kringl — this is a MUST see…at least once. Leavenworth is also a Christmas town, so there are lots of stores that have Christmas ornaments and decor, and they sell them year round. I’d say Kris Kringl has the best selection. One time we took Donovan’s dad, and I swear you couldn’t get him out of there!

Der Sportsmann – a great outdoors store. We’ve stopped here a few times to buy gloves, hats, or anything we needed last minute because we weren’t prepared for the cold.

Cured by Visconti – I swear we could go into this store daily. Cured sells different types of salami and cured meats – there are lots of options and all of them are delicious. We usually buy some meats and cheeses to bring back to our hotel room to snack on.

Wine Girl Wines – this is also a must do for us. Each time we go, we stop and do a wine tasting to check out all the wines WGW offers. All of the wines are made locally in Lake Chelan, and they are delicious! Finally, on our last trip, we decided to join the wine club. Our first shipment comes in 2021, and we’re really excited!

When it comes to lodging in Leavenworth, there are a few options on every budget level, however, Donovan and I will never stay anywhere else other than PostHotel.

PostHotel is a bit on the splurgy side of cost, but you won’t regret it. The hotel is a off the main road, so it’s pretty quiet. The front doors also remain locked constantly and you have to be buzzed in (if you don’t have a key) which makes it feel exclusive and fancy. It’s also an adults-only spa hotel, so everyone talks in hushed tones, and it’s very peaceful. Also, no one will judge you if you walk around the hotel in your robe and slippers…in fact, it’s encouraged!

The rooms are absolutely gorgeous. We’ve stayed at PostHotel twice, and each time we’ve stayed in a different part of the hotel. I’d definitely recommend the balcony rooms first, but the terrace room are not bad, either. The only downside to the terrace rooms is that they’re on the same level as the main balcony, so other guests might be meandering outside your door. We really didn’t spend a ton of time in the room, so honestly, there are really no bad choices.

The main reason PostHotel is so awesome is because of the co-ed Spa.

The pools are located on the bottom floor, and this is really the reason we come to this hotel. What’s frustrating about other spa hotels is that all of the amenities are separated by the men/women locker rooms. At PostHotel, all of the amenities are co-ed meaning you actually get to enjoy the hot tubs, pools, steam rooms, saunas together.

One of Donovan’s favorite things about the pool is that it plays music underwater. Yes! You read that right! He will literally float for hours upon hours listening to music. It’s so peaceful!

The hotel staff will give you a “wellness” card with a spa routine to follow, but we typically do our own thing. We both love the eucalyptus steam room and going back-and-forth between the main pool and the indoor hot tub. There are also these really great oversized chaises that make it really easy to fall asleep while you’re relaxing and drying off. That only happened to me like….every time I sat down. Ha!

It’s all in the details with PostHotel, and we love that. The hotel serves European-style breakfast options as well as a spa lunch daily (included in your hotel room cost), so you really don’t need to leave the hotel except for dinner time.

Overall, Leavenworth is easy to get to from Seattle and Spokane and there is a lot to do once you’re there. If you like to eat, shop, and drink beer — Leavenworth has you covered. If you like outdoor sports like snow skiing or hiking, Leavenworth has you covered. I can’t wait until we can go back again! It definitely won’t be soon enough!