14: Lakes of Sammamish: Where to Swim, Fish, Paddle, and Live on the Water

Lakesof Sammamish: Where to Swim, Fish, Paddle, and Live on the Water

The city is named for a lake, but Lake Sammamish is only part of thewater story. Up on the plateau itself there are three smaller lakes,Pine Lake, Beaver Lake, and Yellow Lake, and each has a very differentrelationship with the people around it. Pine Lake has a city park andseasonal lifeguards. Beaver Lake has a lodge and a rack of free loanerlife jackets. Yellow Lake sits inside Klahanie, where access is ahomeowners’ association question.

That’s the real question with Sammamish’s lakes: not which one isprettiest, but who is allowed to use it. Some are public, some areresident-only, and a few are hard to spot from the road. Below is eachlake, its rules in one line, and, at the end, what it means if you wantto live on the water instead of just visiting.

Lake Sammamish

The big one. Lake Sammamish covers roughly 4,850 acres, withSammamish along its eastern shore, Issaquah at the south end, andRedmond and Bellevue to the north and west. Most of the shoreline isprivate, so the handful of public access points matter:

• Sammamish Landing (Sammamish). An 8-acre park onthe eastern shore with three small beaches, two docks, a picnic shelter,and a display on the railroad that once ran along today’s East LakeSammamish Trail. It’s the only public property on the lake’s shorelineinside Sammamish city limits.

• Lake Sammamish State Park (Issaquah). The lake’ssouth end, and the main public boat launch. It also has swimming beaches(Tibbetts and Sunset), picnic shelters, and athletic fields.

• Idylwood Park (Redmond). Public access on thelake’s west shore.

At the north end, Marymoor Park in Redmond is where the 11-mile EastLake Sammamish Trail begins, a flat paved ride or walk along the waterthat comes up again and again in what people love about living here.

For anglers, wild coastal cutthroat, smallmouth bass, and yellowperch are the main draws. Kokanee, the lake’s landlocked sockeye, spawnin creeks like Laughing Jacobs, Tibbetts, and Issaquah Creek, and areclosed to fishing.

The rules, in one line: swim only at designatedbeaches (Sammamish Landing or the state park), launch boats at the statepark (fees apply), and check WDFW’s current rules before fishing, sincekokanee, steelhead, and some salmon are closed.

Pine Lake

Pine Lake is Sammamish’s most neighborhood-scale lake: a small lakewith a city park on its shore and homes around it. Pine Lake Park hassandy beaches, a designated swimming area, and calm water for kayaks andpaddleboards, and it’s a good example of what the plateau’s lake parksdo well. We introduced the Pine Lake neighborhood in 8Sammamish Neighborhoods Worth Knowing.

The rules, in one line: swim only in the designatedarea (lifeguards are on duty only during specific summer weeks), andfishing season runs from the fourth Saturday in April through October31, with a license.

Beaver Lake

Beaver Lake is actually a chain of three lakes, and the main lake iswhere the recreation happens. Beaver Lake Park covers 83 acres, with aswimming area, forested trails, a big meadow, and the historic BeaverLake Lodge, which began as a private resort in the 1930s. In summer thepark lends out life jackets for free, and the lake hosts the swim leg ofthe annual Beaver Lake Triathlon. One quirk: the public boat ramp isn’tin the park, it’s a state Fish & Wildlife access site on the lake’ssoutheast side. We covered the park in more detail in GettingOutside in Sammamish.

The rules, in one line: swim in designated areas,borrow the free life jackets in summer, fish year-round with a license,and use electric motors only, since gas motors aren’t allowed on thelake.

Yellow Lake

Yellow Lake is tucked into Klahanie beside Klahanie Park. It’s small,about 10 acres, and named for its yellow water lilies. A forested buffersurrounds it and a walking trail circles it, so it functions more asurban wildlife habitat than a swimming hole. It’s shallow and edged withlily pads, so don’t picture a beach.

Ownership and access are worth confirming rather than assuming.Reports describe the lake as owned by the Klahanie HOA, and the trail’sstatus isn’t as clear-cut. The Klahanie HOA can tell you what’s open tonon-residents: klahanie.com.

The rules, in one line: treat it as resident-onlyunless the HOA says otherwise, and don’t assume any swimming, fishing,or boating access.

The lakes you’ll hearabout but rarely see

• Laughing Jacobs Lake. It’s the source of LaughingJacobs Creek, which runs through Sammamish and Issaquah to LakeSammamish. Below the creek’s falls is a primary spawning ground for thebig lake’s kokanee. The lake itself is reportedly private, so this oneis a story rather than a destination.

• Ames Lake. It sits north of the city inunincorporated King County, near Union Hill-Novelty Hill. It shows up onregional maps, but we couldn’t confirm public access details, so ifyou’re house hunting up north, ask about it by address.

• Ebright Creek Park. It’s not a lake, but thisneighborhood park has trails and a creek, and it’s a good stop for waterwithout a beach.

If you want to live on thewater

“Lake living” in Sammamish can mean three different things, and theprice, permits, and day-to-day experience differ a lot between them.

• True waterfront. The property touches theshoreline, usually with a dock. You’ll find these on Lake Sammamish’seast shore, Pine Lake, and Beaver Lake. Frontage and views command apremium, and docks, lifts, and shoreline improvements add both lifestyleand regulatory complexity. It isn’t unusual to see a Beaver Lake listingwhere the frontage is tied to a shoreline variance.

• Deeded or HOA lake access. The home isn’t on thewater, but the owners get access through an easement or acommunity-owned park or beach. Several developments around LakeSammamish own small private parks for residents. This can be the mostaffordable way to have a dock or beach, but the details live in thelegal documents, so read them.

• Lake-adjacent. You live near the water and use thepublic parks: Pine Lake Park, Beaver Lake Park, Sammamish Landing, orthe state park. Because most of the shoreline is private, these publicaccess points are the whole story for many households.

Before you buy on or near a lake, ask about:

• The dock’s permit history, and whether it’s allowed to stay asis.

• The exact wording of any water-access easement or HOA beachrights.

• Whether the lot sits in a mapped flood area, and whether floodinsurance will be required.

• Shoreline rules that could limit a remodel, addition, or newdock.

• The lake’s own rules: Beaver Lake, for example, allows electricmotors only.

Not sure which of the three fits? Tell us how you’d use the water,and we’ll search accordingly.

Helpful links

• Cityof Sammamish Parks & Trails, for current hours, lifeguard weeks,and swimming rules

• BeaverLake Park & Lodge, including the life jacket program

• SammamishLanding Park

• WDFW:Lake Sammamish and BeaverLake, for fishing rules and access

Where they sit

Official City of Sammamish street mapannotated with callouts for Sammamish Landing on Lake Sammamish, PineLake, Beaver Lake, and Yellow Lake in Klahanie

Base map: City of Sammamish Public Works – Engineering – GIS,Sammamish Street Map (April 13, 2016). Callouts and markers added by us,plotted from real coordinates; not an official city product.

This is a supplementary post in our Why Sammamish?series.

Kelly Azzarello Real Estate | Compass 📧 kelly@kellyazzarello.com 📞(425) 830-6457 🌐 kellyazzarello.com