Mountain coaster adds dimension to Leavenworth as tourist destination

It’s promoted as “the first alpine coaster in Washington state” and it opens in May in Leavenworth.

“So it’s a little different than a regular roller coaster. It’s pretty exciting,” John Sutherland, general manager of Leavenworth Adventure Park said. “Because, you know, you really create your own experience. It’s about half a mile from downtown.”

Appearing on KIRO Newsradio’s Seattle’s Morning News, Sutherland said, “You have individual sleds where one or two people can ride and they’re what that hill carried like a roller coaster, basically. But you kind of create your own experience by controlling your speed all the way down. And oh really fast for or, you know, have a nice scenic ride and the view from up there is pretty mind-boggling. It is stunning.”

The Leavenworth Adventure Park is scheduled to open in May and be a family-oriented addition to the area.

“We’ll also have this custom climbing wall that will have four lanes on if it was basically it’s a sculpture that was sculpted by a local artist. We’ll have a bunch of trampolines and activities for kids. And then we have an 8,500-square-foot lodge that will have a couple of grab-and-go food stations and a beautiful place to sit and watch everything. So I think, you know, for family activities like this, it’ll be a really great addition.”

Weekend will be snowy, cloudy, cold around the Sound

Leavenworth is probably best known for Oktober Fest. It’s also home to shops, restaurants, hiking, and tubing options.

“So it’s really been kind of a year-round destination for quite a while. But one thing that is true, that we realized was that most tourists don’t truly come to a high tricycle Ridge, or they come in to see the town, which is kind of a work of art in itself. And, but there are not tons for families to do,” Sutherland said.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.