A Road Trip to Leavenworth, Washington: Attractions and Highlights
As a Canadian, I never really thought to travel down into the USA for road-trips and adventures… but boy was I missing out! Although I still have to be bias and say that everything north of the border is better, the reality is that there are some GEMS in America! One of these many gems is highway 2 which is east of Seattle and takes you on a scenic route towards the Bavarian town of Leavenworth!
This road-trip is for all the weekend warriors that want a quick get away! Given that it is only 800 km away, you only need to book a 3 night (4 day) trip with Q Campervans to have all your km’s included in the rental price (we offer 200km/day for free). And don’t worry about insurance, as our packages cover you during your time in the USA.
Vancouver to Index, WA
When you pick up your campervan in Port Moody, BC, it is just over a 2 hour drive to your first stop at Wallace Falls State Park. It is important to check the border crossing wait times. Also, ensure that everything you are bringing across the border is allowed! Here is a link to all the restrictions. Make sure to purchase your Discover Pass to access the trails without consequences. Wallace Falls has 3 different waterfalls to view and is a round trip of 8 km. Although it is one of the more popular trailheads in the area, the weekend is the main time it will be busy. I scheduled my road-trip during the weekdays and there was virtually nobody the trails.
Another lovely stop, just at the entrance of the cascades, is the “Big Eddy” bridge. This is a great stop for a peaceful lunch by the river. Although the water may be quite cold even in the summer months, the current is surprisingly calm which makes it a great spot to cool off with a swim!
The lower section of Bridal Veil Falls! I didn’t get great pictures of the main waterfall because it was so powerful and kept fogging up my camera lenses! In person it is insane to stand underneath it!
Not too far down the road is a beautiful trailhead where you can visit both Bridal Veil Falls and Lake Serene. It is 13 km total. Be sure to purchase your Northwest Forest Pass before arriving and display it on your dash. If you are looking for a harder hike, Lake Serene has quite a bit more elevation gain. However, Bridal Veil falls doesn’t have quite as near steep sections and makes it a perfect quick hitter for this road-trip! Be prepared to cross a bunch of streams especially in the spring. When I visited this area I had the entire trail to myself! The weather was not especially nice, but still the falls and lake were STUNNING! Pictures do not do the scenery justice!
Lake serene is quite a bit higher in elevation! My camera really did not capture how awe-inspiring these mountain peaks are. If it was a sunny day…. I can only imagine how beautiful it would be!
The last stop in this subsection of the road-trip is Heybrook Lookout! The trail head is simply a pull-out off of highway 2 and doesn’t look like much, but the views are amazing. The structure at the top has been a look-out since 1925 and keeps improving most recently by the Everett Mountaineers. You can even see the mountain peaks that overlook Lake Serene and Bridal Falls in the distance.
The view from the deck at Heybrook Lookout
The viewpoint structure at Heybrook Lookout
Overnight Camping after Day 1
It would be a squeeze to get all the places described above done in one day! But you can always split them up a bit. In terms of finding places to stay overnight, I personally used iOverlander to find a really nice spot right by the North Fork Skykomish River. There are campgrounds in the various small towns along the highway as well if you want more surety about your overnight locations. If you want a campsite, Money Creek Campground will be your best bet!
Here is where I stayed overnight! I actually had “Big Blue” turned around so the side doors faced the river. This is one of my 7 campervan rentals!
Stevens Pass to Leavenworth
Next you will ascend deeper into the mountains. A long steep climb will eventually see you arrive at Stevens Pass which is a ski resort in the winter, but has some beautiful hikes in the summer! Be sure to check out Deception Falls and Iron Goat Trailhead before arriving at the resort! The latter was the old Great Northern Railroad built in 1893 and is not a challenging hike.
After Stevens pass, there are some spots to pull off along the Wenatchee River. There was recently a forest fire here, but this means the area is teeming with life. Pulling off by The Alps Fudge and Candy shop or The Historic Tumwater Dam would be great spots so see the river! But at this point in the trip… I’m so eager to tell you just to go straight to Leavenworth and The Enchantments to see the cute Bavarian town and some of the most incredible glacial lake views ever…
I took a super underwhelming picture of Leavenworth… Please search up some pictures on google… I didn’t do this place justice haha
When you arrive in Leavenworth, I would recommend parking and walking the entire town to really soak in the character of this place. It is unlike any other town on the west coast. It really makes you feel like for a second you are in Europe. You can stroll the park by the river, check out the Reindeer Farm, or go to the Leavenworth Adventure Park!
This is Colchuck Lake! A very popular spot to stop for lunch and enjoy the beautiful scenery!
Lastly, and probably the most beautiful hike I have every done. The Enchantments and Colchuck Lake. This is the final destinations of the road-trip and wow does it end with a BANG! I can’t describe how beautiful the many mountaintop lakes are with streams flowing in between them. If you are looking to only do a shorter hike, Colchuck lake is also incredible with its Gatorade blue glacial water. I will note, that if you choose to rent a Q Campervan, I don’t allow off-roading (forest roads). However to get to the trail head you have to drive about 5 km off-road. If you choose to do this road-trip, please drive slow over any potholes and rough terrain. This is the ONLY forestry road I will allow my vans to go on, because the hike is so beautiful haha! Okay, enough talk, here are some pictures! Another thing I should note, is the pictures I took here are in October.
The Enchantments has many smaller lakes at the mountain peaks and you meander through them!
The larch trees in the fall turn a beautiful yellow! The Enchantments are FILLED with them!
Here I am posing with some mountain Goats on the back side of The Enchantments!
Thanks for reading! If you are wanting to book a Q Campervan for you trip through Washington or any other place along the Pacific Northwest of USA and Canada, please use the button below!
