Where to Stay in Leavenworth (Best Places & Areas in 2023)

Best Neighborhoods & Areas to Stay in Leavenworth

Leavenworth is a small town and doesn’t have distinct neighborhoods the way larger cities do. Most hotels and attractions are found in the city center. There are also amazing accommodations outside the downtown area. The area further north of town is remarkable for its natural beauty and has several lodges and vacation homes tucked away in the woods.

Downtown Leavenworth

👉 Best Area For First-time Visitors | ✨ Best Downtown Leavenworth Hotels: Bavarian Lodge • Hotel Pension Anna • PostHotel Leavenworth

The Leavenworth city center is the best place to start any trip to this corner of the Cascades. Many popular hotels in Leavenworth are located downtown and are built and decorated to be in line with the town’s Bavarian atmosphere. 

PostHotel Leavenworth, an adults-only hotel and resort, offers the most luxurious accommodations in town, even if it cuts back a little on the Germanic aesthetics. The property features a year-round outdoor pool and a wellness area including an indoor pool, hot tub, and sauna.

There’s much more than hotels in downtown Leavenworth, though. Restaurants and beer gardens abound, offering a variety of hearty dishes. Different festivals occur throughout the year, especially in October and around Christmas. A trip to Leavenworth is also one of the best weekend getaways from Seattle, any time of the year.

Downtown also has some great parks. Waterfront Park is perfect for a peaceful stroll in the woods. Front Street Park functions as a town square for Leavenworth and the city’s Christmas tree stands here in winter adding to the holiday cheer.

Pros of Staying in Downtown Leavenworth:

• Lots of awesome restaurants, bars, and gift shops
• A variety of lodgings, from luxurious resorts to Old-World Bavarian-style lodges.

Cons of Staying in Downtown Leavenworth:

• Hotels here book up quickly in peak summer and Christmas seasons
• Streets get crowded during peak seasons
• Limited or tight parking at some properties

Leavenworth Outskirts

👉 Best Area For Families | ✨ Best Leavenworth Outskirts Hotels: Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort • Wedge Mountain Inn • Icicle Village Resort

There are also several great hotels in Leavenworth a little further away from the main drag. Icicle Village Resort is a great choice for many reasons. One of them is that the property has a year-round outdoor pool and hot tub. Some rooms feature mountain views, and it’s one of the more affordable hotels in Leavenworth.

Hotels in town tend to be expensive, so if you’re looking to save some money Wedge Mountain Inn is a great option. It features an outdoor pool and is just over 4.5 miles away from the city center. All of the rooms have balconies, too, which is not common for hotels in this price range. 

There are great attractions on the outskirts too, such as the Leavenworth Reindeer Farm and the Icicle Ridge Winery. This part of town tends to be quieter, too, and is a great place to stay if you like being right on nature’s doorstep.

Pros of Staying on the Outskirts of Leavenworth:

• Close to nature
• Very peaceful surroundings

Cons of Staying on the Outskirts of Leavenworth:

• Most restaurants and bars are further away
• You’ll need a car to get between most lodgings and attractions

North of Leavenworth

👉 Best Area For Outdoor Atmosphere | ✨ Best Hotels North of Leavenworth: Squirrel Tree Resort • Tivoli Chalet • Beaver Valley Lodge

The area north of Leavenworth proper is a great place to go if you love being out in nature. Most lodgings here are vacation rentals and won’t feature the continental breakfasts and other familiar services of most hotels in Leavenworth. Having your own cabin overlooking the Wenatchee River is worth having to make your own breakfast, though!

The beauty of the area is just another reason why Leavenworth is one of the best destinations to visit in Washington State.

Options up here are often quite limited, but if you manage to find an open slot for a private home tucked away in the woods, you’re in for a treat! Many places are built in log-cabin fashion. There are several great hiking trails north of Leavenworth, as well as the spectacular Lake Wenatchee State Park.

Squirrel Tree Resort is a good option if you can’t afford a private house or are having difficulty finding one for your intended travel dates. The property offers simple hotel rooms and features a restaurant and lounge complete with a game room.

Pros of Staying North of Leavenworth:

• Super-cozy vacation-home rentals
• Stunning natural beauty

Cons of Staying North of Leavenworth:

• Limited options for accommodations
• You’ll need a car to get here and to local attractions

Tips for Staying in Leavenworth

Save Money by Visiting in the Off-Season

Leavenworth is busy year-round and cheap hotels are few in number. Summer is the peak season, and, as you can imagine, October is busier here than in most places.  Skiing also attracts a lot of visitors in the winter, but the “off-season” here spans from November to February. There will be a slight increase around Christmas time, though.

Visit Leavenworth around Christmas Time

The above tip shouldn’t deter you from visiting in December, however. The Christmas season is when the town really shines (literally and figuratively). Christmas lights adorn the town, and a local choir carols across downtown for the first three weekends of the season.

The Christkindlemarkt starts the season off with a Bavarian-style Christmas market and seasonal festivities on Thanksgiving weekend. Christmas lights often stay up until Valentine’s Day, so if you’d rather skip the holiday crowds, you have some options.

Reserve Rooms in Advance

The areas outside of town tend to have lodges or (more often) vacation homes which get booked up rapidly because going to Leavenworth is one of the best activities in Washington State. 

Hotels in Leavenworth itself also fill up quickly, especially in summer and around Christmas. It’s a good idea to make reservations well in advance, especially if you want to stay in a cabin north of town.

Special Diet? No Problem!

Most restaurants in Leavenworth offer primarily German cuisine, famous for its meat-based dishes. At the same time, many also have vegan and gluten-free options as well. Beer gardens will also often have plant-based brats, too. 

There are also a small number of other international restaurants if you want to change things up a little and try something other than German dishes. (I’ll admit I had to laugh when the first restaurant I saw upon arriving in Leavenworth was a Mongolian grill).

Go Brewery Hopping

How could Leavenworth live up to its Bavarian theme without good beer? Leavenworth sports several independent breweries each with excellent libations on tap. Old-World favorites such as pilsners, ambers, and lagers stand alongside the ever-present IPA of the Pacific Northwest. Some places also have ciders on tap for gluten-free visitors (or anyone, for that matter).

FAQs About Where to Stay in Leavenworth

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Thanks for reading my guide to where to stay in Leavenworth! Next up, check out my guide to the best things to do in Leavenworth or Chelsea’s guide to the best small towns in Washington.

(Featured Image Credit: Mark A. Lee / Shutterstock)