Sitting in the eastern foothills of the Cascades, 125 miles from Seattle, Leavenworth (pop. 2,074) has successfully transformed itself from an economically depressed railroad town into one of the most popular day-trip destinations in the Pacific Northwest. After the local lumber mills closed down in the mid-1960s, the town took advantage of its spectacular location and re-created itself as an ersatz Bavarian village and has been drawing huge crowds of tourists ever since—over a million visitors annually. Check out the old photographs on the walls of Der Markt Platz shopping center, on the corner of Eighth and Commercial Streets, for the whole story.
Over a dozen blocks of half-timbered pseudo-chalets and Tyrolean shopping malls house a range of low-budget craft galleries and T-shirt stores, which you can escape by walking two blocks south to an attractively landscaped park along the Wenatchee River. Eat and drink at the Heidel Burger Drive-In, or Gustav’s sausage-beer-and-burger garden, both on US-2 at the west end of town, or at the elaborate mock-Bavarian McDonald’s, on US-2 farther east. The pleasant and moderately priced Evergreen Inn ($75 and up; 509/548-5515), a block south of US-2 at 1117 Front Street, has quiet rooms and bike rentals. For more-complete listings, contact the visitors center (509/548-5807).
