At the end of January, we rented “Camp David,” a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom vacation cabin in the Chiwawa River Pines area, which is a few miles from Lake Wenatchee State Park and Fish Lake. It’s also about a 20-30 minute drive from Leavenworth, a great little tourist town on the eastern side of Washington State’s Cascade Mountains (about three hours from Seattle).
With it’s Bavarian theme, not many would call Leavenworth classy or upscale, but it’s fun. In the winter, when we were there, we saw places you could do sleigh rides, and of course there is snowshoeing and cross-country skiing all around town (though not many dog-friendly trails right near town).
Anyway, back to the vacation cabin.
Camp David Lodge - Courtesy Photo by Wikipedia
We came over from Spokane for the weekend and met family who were driving out from Seattle. The weather was pretty bad (parts of Washington had more snow dumped this year than in the last ten years) and the passes were closed off and on, so we almost didn’t make it for our snowshoeing weekend. Had a little trouble finding the cabin too since the road sign for the street it was on was buried in the snow! And when arriving to the cabin, all the snow had fallen off the roof, burying the recently shoveled path to the door. So, the snow made getting there a bit of a chore, but when we called for help finding the place, the owners (who live in Seattle) answered and did their best to direct me. Very pleased with their prompt response to my message and their willingness to help.
Anyway, eventually found the cabin, and it was a great little place. The hot tub out back was wonderful (I tried that baby the first night), especially with the temperatures in the 20s and mounds of snow all around. It made the cabin feel very private and secluded even though there were other homes on the road. You could probably go in the nude if you like that swinging free feeling!
Inside, the cabin wasn’t huge, but it was fine for accomodating about four people (six would be possible if you want to pull out the couch and you sleep 2 per bed on each bed). The stairs leading up to the loft are quite steep, so that area is probably best for the kids or spry adults. The small but efficient kitchen had everything you could want, and there was even a full-sized washer and dryer next to the bathroom with plenty of extra towels stacked overhead.
One thing to warn you about is that this is a big time snowmobiling area with lots of trails accessible right from the neighborhood streets. When we arrived on Thursday, we didn’t hear much of it, but by Saturday there were people cruising down the streets and Saturday night there was a little outdoor gathering with some drinking down the street. If you enjoy snowmobiling, you’ll doubtlessly love it here, but if you find these things little more than noise machines, you may find the weekends a bit loud (especially during the day) in this neighborhood.
We weren’t too bothered by the snowmobiles, since we spent our days visiting Leavenworth (there are plenty of restaurants, tourist shops, and wineries with inexpensive tastings in town, all within a radius of a few blocks) and snowshoeing around the Lake Wenatchee area. There was a very beautiful snowshoeing trailing that ran along a river and out to the shore of the lake before curling back up into the trees. A lovely and quiet bit of nature (we hardly saw anyone else until we were leaving–a few more folks were showing up to take advantage of the trail we had already broken for them, hah), and it made me want to come check out this area again in the summer, so you could try some hikes.
We also visited Plain, a tiny town (don’t blink or you’ll miss it) that you can drive through if you take the back way to Leavenworth (ended up taking this way to originally get to the cabin, since Steven’s Pass was closed and cars were backed up past where you needed to turn off). If you drive through Plain, visit Plain Hardware. This funky little shop does indeed sell hardware, but it also sells ski and snowshoe gear, dog paraphenilia, tourist necessities, and espressos that no Seattle native will sneer at. The grocery store next door was less impressive with a smaller selection than most of the 7-11s back home. Hope those folks in Plain know how to order groceries over the Internet.
Overall, our weekend was fun, andhave no problem recommending Camp David for anyone wanting to explore the Lake Wenatchee, Leavenworth Wa areas. The folks that own that cabin have several in the area, and you can check them out at Comfy Cabins.
