Mountain coaster adds to Leavenworth as tourist destination

It’s promoted as “the first alpine coaster in Washington state,” and it opened June 1 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. But you kind of create your own experience by controlling your speed all the way down. [It’s] a nice scenic ride, and the view from up there is pretty mind-boggling. It is stunning.”

The Leavenworth Adventure Park is a family-oriented addition to the area, just in time for summer.

“We’ll also have this custom climbing wall that will have four lanes…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 [it’s] 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 Oktoberfest. 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 Icicle Ridge, or they come in to see the town, which is kind of a work of art in itself. 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.