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Waterfront Park

The easiest walk in Leavenworth, a gentle network of paths along the Wenatchee River and Blackbird Island just steps from downtown shops and restaurants. Up to 3 miles of flat trails through cottonwood forest with riv…

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At a Glance

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Distance

1 to 3 miles

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Elevation Gain

100 ft

landscape

High Point

1,390 ft

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Activity

Hike

Best For

Kid FriendlyRiverDogs AllowedNo Pass RequiredClose to Town

Photo Highlights · July 2025

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Wenatchee River from Blackbird Island Bridge

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Why Go

The Waterfront Park in Leavenworth is situated right next to the shops and restaurants of Leavenworth, and makes the perfect place for a mellow stroll along the Wenatchee River. It's a great short hike in all seasons, and provides nice views of the Wenatchee River and surrounding areas, with easy access to the trails within the park.

The main trail starts in the northeastern area of the park, and takes you over a bridge onto Blackbird Island, which has three parallel trails running through it. These trails converge at a bridge which leads into a trail to Enchantment Park. There are a variety of access points to the trails in the park, whether from the parking area at the Waterfront Park, one of the paths coming off Commercial Street, or from the parking area at Enchantment Park.

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Route & Map

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Getting There

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Directions

Driving east on Highway 2, take a right onto 9th street and drive until the end of the street. Take a left onto Main St, which terminates at the parking area.

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Parking

There is a good sized parking lot within the park. There is also a parking lot in Enchantment Park, which has a trail that leads to Blackbird Island within the Waterfront Park.

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Field Notes · Personal Trip Report

Trip Reports

I've hiked Waterfront Park twice — pick a visit to read its full report.

Birthday Weekend River Walk

We squeezed in a cool morning loop before heading to the Danish Bakery, enjoying light breezes and fewer crowds after a weekend of theater and higher-elevation hiking.

calendar_today July 27, 2025

straighten 1.6 miles, round trip · 22 ft gain

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We had a great weekend in Leavenworth celebrating my mom's birthday, including the Sound of Music at the Leavenworth Summer Theatre, a hike around Icicle Gorge and great food at Munchen House and Larch. Before departing on Sunday, we decided to head down to the Waterfront Park for a quick morning walk before stopping by the Danish Bakery for coffee and pastries. Our AirBnB rental was close to the Waterfront Park, and we followed Main Street down into the parking area, where the tubing companies were getting ready for the day's activities. It took me a second to find where the trail started, but soon we were on our way.

Pea Vine trail

We walked along the Pea Vine trail, enjoying the cooler morning temps and a light breeze. There were already a good number of people out walking the trail in addition to us. We crossed the bridge and when the trail split into three sections, we opted to take the River trail which goes along the banks of the Wenatchee River.

Wenatchee River

There was no one in the river yet, as it was still relatively early in the morning. Judging by how many tubes we saw in the parking lot, I'm sure there was a steady flow of folks in the afternoon. As we reached the end of Blackbird Island, we passed by a sandbar in the river and saw a large group of vultures hanging out. I didn't see any dead animals near them, I wonder if they were just congregating for access to the water?

Vultures

We crossed over the bridge from Blackbird Island and continued along Bear Trail. We took a right on Dear Trail, and I had been planning on looping around on Enchantment Trail, but wasn't paying attention and we turned onto Rafters Trail, which took us right back to Bear Trail. Oh well, not like we missed anything special. Once on Blackbird Island, we went left onto Channel Trail.

Enchantment Trail

A short while later, we crossed the bridge from Blackbird Island and got a nice view of the Post Hotel. When I had hiked this the year before with my family, my son was fascinated with the hotel, and was disappointed to learn it was only for adults!

Post Hotel

We made it back to main street and then went up to the bakery for coffee and some pastries. It's a beautiful park along the river, and definitely worth a stroll if you are in Leavenworth.