One of my favorite parts of travel is that you get to stay somewhere that is NOT your home and through our travels we have stayed in many different types of accomodations. Before we had kids, we used to camp a lot. If I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, I could wake up my husband and he’d help me find my way to the camp bathroom so I didn’t get lost in the forest. With kids in tow, I have to find my own way and back and I find this really stressful and I’m kind of scared of the dark. So in Leavenworth there is now a neat little tiny house community in a Thousand Trails campground where you can almost sleep in the outdoors but still have a bathroom and a kitchen indoors too.
Location, Location, Location
I have been really curious about staying in a tiny home even if it wasn’t in the forest so I’m glad we had the opportunity to check this one out. I love the idea of using less space and a tiny home can be put almost anywhere and I’ve heard people are starting to put them in their backyards and in other small areas and renting them out as AirBnb’s. I haven’t really been able to figure out their difference too much from a trailer except that I don’t think a tiny house has to be able to be mobile, while a trailer or RV does. (If you know more about this please feel free to let me know.) The Tiny Home village in Leavenworth is in a great campsite with bike trails, a pool, a common area with WIFI and ping pong, and tennis courts. The kids love this kind of camping and the proximity to downtown Leavenworth was really convenient too.
Air conditioning while camping
We stayed in a really cute Tiny Home called Otto. I liked the Bavarian style of the tiny homes in Leavenworth and I was surprised at the amount of space we had inside the tiny home despite it looking so small. It might be a little harder to entertain kids in a tiny home on a rainy day, but I think that this would be difficult anywhere. My guys really liked reading in the upstairs loft. I was so thankful for air conditioning because it was really hot the weekend that we visited Leavenworth and it is so hard to sleep anywhere when it is hot. This is not a problem in an air-conditioned tiny home. The kitchen was also fully stocked with dishes so we didn’t have to pack anything or take anything back to clean up at home. The bedding and towels are also provided here making this kind of ‘camping’ perfect.
What to Cook?
There is a kitchen with a stovetop but no microwave so make sure you take this into account with what you bring. Because there is no oven, we made our garlic bread on the grill outside. I’m not a gourmet camper so we always bring ingredients for meals that are simple like: pasta, salad and sauce; hot dogs and salad; pancake mix (we choose Snoqualmie pancake mix because it’s a just add water mix) berries, whip cream and syrup; instant oatmeal and eggs; and burritos. We visited during a burn ban so it was a little sad not to have a fire but we enjoyed biking around and playing tennis.
What to do nearby?
We brought our paddleboard and hung out at Lake Wenatchee for a lazy afternoon. We drove to Leavenworth and saw a sign with REINDEER on it and stopped for an impromptu tour. We ate hot dogs (they do have veggie dogs at Munchen Haus btw) and grabbed a delicious coffee. There is always something fun to see in beautiful Leavenworth. (Next summer we are tempted to float down the river! This looked like a really amazing time.)
If you are intrigued by the idea of a tiny home and want to check one out-this is a great way to do it. We had a lovely time in Leavenworth-we were there for the Kids’ Adventure Games in Steven’s Pass and my kids’ are dying to come back again next year. Have you heard of tiny homes? Have you ever stayed in one? I’d love to hear!
(PS. We were guests of the Thousand Trails Campground, and the opinions in this post are my own.)
(PPS. Apparently Amazon will now deliver a Tiny House right to your ‘door‘…..)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
Great tip for a nearby stay!
Adding this to my future adventure list!! So cool!