VERDICT: We gave 4 out of 5 tickets and here’s why!
This guide forms part of our complete USA Travel Guide, featuring scenic road trips, iconic destinations, practical travel advice and honest first-hand travel experiences from across the United States.
This article is part of our 🚗 48 Hr Washington USA Road Trip series, exploring Leavenworth, La Conner and the Washington coastline. Read the complete itinerary here.
Quaint Bavarian Village – Leavenworth: ✅
Marriott Bonvoy, Wenatchee: ✅
Coastal Town – La Conner : ✅
Wander Through Nasty Jacks Antiques: ✅
Explore Seaside Resort – Birch Bay: ✅
48 Hours in Washington: From Canada to Leavenworth, La Conner & Birch Bay
Living close to the Canadian-American border means Washington is one of those places where we can wake up in British Columbia, grab our passports and be exploring somewhere completely different a few hours later. And that’s exactly what we wanted from this trip.
We had 48 hours.
No flights. No complicated itinerary. Just a car, an overnight bag and a route that would take us from the Canadian border into the mountains of Washington, through small towns and open countryside and eventually back towards the Pacific Coast.
Our major stops?
Leavenworth → Wenatchee → La Conner → Birch Bay → Canada.
It turned into one of those road trips that reminded us just how much variety you can find during a relatively short drive through Washington State.
► First Stop: Leavenworth
Our main destination on the first day was Leavenworth, one of Washington’s most distinctive small towns. Driving into town feels slightly surreal.
You’re surrounded by the Cascade Mountains, but suddenly the buildings look as though you’ve arrived in southern Germany. Balconies, Bavarian façades, painted signs, German restaurants and beer halls line the streets. Even familiar businesses have adapted their signs and buildings to fit the Alpine theme. The transformation was deliberate.
Leavenworth was once a struggling logging and railroad community. During the 1960s, local business owners reinvented the downtown around a Bavarian theme in an effort to bring visitors back. Safe to say, it worked.
Today Leavenworth is one of Washington’s best-known tourist destinations, particularly during Oktoberfest and the Christmas season.
We wandered through the shops, explored the downtown and soaked up the atmosphere. But then things got slightly stranger.
We found Krampus.
If you’ve never encountered Krampus before, imagine the rather less friendly companion to Saint Nicholas from Central European folklore.
While well-behaved children could expect gifts from Saint Nicholas, Krampus traditionally dealt with those who hadn’t been quite so good. With horns, fur and a decidedly sinister appearance, he’s not exactly your standard Christmas character. Seeing Krampus imagery in the middle of this cheerful Bavarian-style Washington town was unexpected and naturally we loved it. It was exactly the sort of quirky discovery that makes wandering without a strict schedule worthwhile.
► Across the Cascades to Wenatchee
After exploring Leavenworth, we continued towards Wenatchee for the night. The drive through this part of Washington is beautiful. Mountains gradually open into valleys, orchards appear along the roadside and the landscape begins to show a completely different side of the state from the heavily populated I-5 corridor.
Wenatchee sits beside the Columbia River and is surrounded by one of Washington’s major agricultural regions. Apples are particularly important here. Wenatchee has long been associated with Washington’s apple-growing industry, although vineyards, cherries, pears and other crops are also part of the wider region.
Our base for the evening was SpringHill Suites by Marriott Wenatchee. For a short road trip, this was exactly what we needed: somewhere comfortable to settle in after a day of driving and exploring before heading out again the following morning.
That’s one advantage of a 48-hour trip. You’re not really looking for a resort where you’ll spend three days beside the pool. The hotel becomes part of the journey rather than the destination.
► Day Two: Through Rural Washington
The next morning we began working our way west again. Rather than thinking of the drive as dead time between destinations, we treated it as part of the experience.
And Washington is excellent for that. Once you’re away from Seattle and the major Interstate corridors, there are huge stretches of countryside dotted with farms, rivers and small communities.
The Cascades create a dramatic divide across the state. Central and eastern Washington can feel considerably drier and more open, while the western side becomes greener as you approach Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest coastline. We passed through communities that we’d probably never have visited as standalone destinations.
That’s one of the things we enjoy most about road trips. Sometimes there’s no famous attraction. You simply drive through a town, notice an old building, stop for coffee or pull over because something looks interesting. Eventually our route brought us towards another of Washington’s wonderfully distinctive small towns.
► La Conner
La Conner sits beside the Swinomish Channel in the Skagit Valley and has a completely different personality from Leavenworth.
Where Leavenworth is colourful, Bavarian and deliberately theatrical, La Conner feels like a historic Pacific Northwest waterfront community. It’s compact enough to explore on foot, which is exactly what we did. We wandered through the village, looked inside the independent stores and enjoyed the waterfront surroundings. The wider Skagit Valley is famous for its tulip fields, particularly during the spring Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, but La Conner works as a destination throughout the year. There are galleries, museums, restaurants, historic buildings and plenty of places where it’s easy to lose track of time.
Which brings us to Nasty Jack’s. With a name like that, we were obviously going inside.
► Nasty Jack’s Antiques
Nasty Jack’s is exactly the kind of place we hope to discover when exploring small towns. It’s an antique store packed with an eclectic mixture of collectibles, furniture, vintage pieces and things you didn’t know you needed until you saw them. Antique shops can tell you quite a bit about the communities around them. Old advertising signs, household items, photographs, toys and memorabilia become tiny pieces of local history. We spent time browsing before heading back outside to continue exploring La Conner. The village makes an excellent road-trip stop because you don’t need an enormous itinerary.
Park the car. Walk. Browse. Eat. Look at the waterfront. Sometimes that’s enough.
► One More Stop: Birch Bay
We could have simply headed straight back towards the Canadian border. But we still had some time. So there was room for one final Washington stop.
Birch Bay.
Located close to the Canadian border, Birch Bay is an easy place to overlook when you’re concentrating on bigger Washington destinations. Yet it’s exactly the kind of coastal community we enjoy.
The large crescent-shaped bay has extensive tidal flats, and at low tide the water can retreat an extraordinary distance. We walked along the beach, watched the water and enjoyed one final dose of Pacific Northwest scenery before getting back into the car.
After the mountains around Leavenworth, the Columbia River country around Wenatchee, rural Washington and the historic streets of La Conner, finishing beside the ocean felt rather appropriate.
► Four Destinations in 48 Hours
That’s what surprised us most about this road trip.
It wasn’t particularly long. Yet the scenery and experiences changed constantly. We’d explored a Bavarian-themed mountain town and encountered Krampus. We’d stayed beside one of Washington’s great agricultural regions. We’d driven through open countryside and communities we’d never previously explored. We’d wandered through antique stores and waterfront streets in La Conner. And we’d finished with a walk along the beach at Birch Bay. Then we crossed the border back into Canada. All within 48 hours.
For travellers living in British Columbia, or anyone wanting to explore Washington beyond Seattle, it’s a great reminder that you don’t necessarily need a week to have a proper road-trip adventure. Sometimes you just need two days.
And a willingness to take the longer way home.
► Our Washington Route:
Canada → Leavenworth → Wenatchee → La Conner → Birch Bay → Canada
- Total kilometres/miles: 722 Kms / 449 Miles
- Approximate total driving time: 9 Hours
- Border crossing used: Sumas Border
- Highways: via I-5 S and US-2
- When to Take This Road Trip: Spring – Summer – Fall (Autumn)
🏡 Read the full feature on Robinhood Village Resort
USA Road Trip | Day 4: Robin Hood Village Resort Review | Hidden Gem on Hood Canal 🌲
Continue Exploring Washington and Attractions
- Deception Pass State Park : Dramatic bridges, rugged coastline, forest trails and spectacular views across Deception Pass.
- Lake Chelan: A beautiful 50-mile-long lake surrounded by mountains, wineries and outdoor recreation.
- Skagit Valley Tulip Fields: Spectacular spring colour across the valley, especially during the April tulip season.
- North Cascades National Park: Alpine scenery, turquoise lakes, mountain viewpoints and some of Washington’s finest hiking.
- Diablo Lake: Famous for its striking turquoise water and one of the best scenic viewpoints in the North Cascades.
- Fort Casey Historical State Park: Explore historic coastal gun batteries and Admiralty Head Lighthouse overlooking Puget Sound.
Nearby Attractions – Washington/Oregon
Planning Your Trip?
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- 🏨 Hotels & unique stays
- 🚗 Rental cars
- 🎟️ Top-rated tours & attractions
- 📶 eSIMs for easy connectivity
- 🛡️ Travel insurance
- 🎒 Packing Lists
- 🎒 Travel gear from The Venturio
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