WSDOT
Leavenworth Christmas Lighting traffic advisory – for Wk. #1 – Mon. 11/26 – Sun. 12/2
Traveling on US 2 to winter destinations in Leavenworth including its annual Christmas Lighting Festival (Friday through Sunday, the first three weekends of December) creates some heavy congestion east of and in town. We have created travel time graphs to help you plan a successful winter excursion.
Consider three things as you plan:
- Which weekend? The second and third weekends of Christmas Lighting Festival typically draw the largest crowds.
- Which day? Friday and Sunday are less crowded.
- What route? Vehicles from the west side that come into town from Stevens Pass on US 2 seldom experience delays, while the I-90/US 97 (Snoqualmie and Blewett Pass) traffic often gets stuck in up to 4 mile backups between the US 2/97 “Big Y” interchange and downtown Leavenworth.
Here’s how it worked for drivers last year:
- Friday – Little to no traffic delays.
- Saturday – Delays up to an hour between Noon and 6 p.m. getting into town from the Big Y and 50-minute delays between 5 and 8 p.m. getting out of town.
- Sunday – there were 20-minute delays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. getting into town and only some slow traffic leaving Leavenworth.
WSDOT always encourages drivers to “Know before you go”:
- Consult WSDOT’s travel times charts.
- Check out online tools, including mobile apps, traffic cameras and email alerts.
- Visit WSDOT’s online traveler information about traffic, weather and even ferrys.
- Follow WSDOT’s social media accounts, such as Twitter and Facebook.
- Pre-program 530 AM and 1610 AM on your radio for highway advisory radio alerts.
- Carry chains and other winter driving essentials.
- Check current chain and traction requirements on the WSDOT passes website or by calling 5-1-1, and watch for the electronic and static advisory signs.
- Plan extra time, slow down and leave extra space between vehicles when driving on potentially slick pavement.
Click to view the full document with graphs that display anticipated travel times on the first Christmas Lighting weekend.
