Sammamish Between Parks and Shoreline Trails

Get to know Sammamish through its parks, shorelines, and trails. The following places offer distinct points of interest.

Parks with Different Features

The 19-acre, wooded Pine Lake Park is located on the shore of Pine Lake and is one of the designated swimming areas in Sammamish. This brings together a clearly identifiable lakeside location and its designation as a swimming area. If this combination is especially important to you when choosing a destination, Pine Lake Park is a distinct point of reference.

Beaver Lake Park covers 83 acres, making it considerably larger in area than Pine Lake Park, which covers 19 acres. At its center is a wooded area with trails. By comparison, Pine Lake Park is notable for its lakeside location and swimming area, while Beaver Lake Park stands out for its size and wooded central area with trails. The two parks therefore offer different features.

Big Rock Park North has a nature playground with a zip line. The historic Reard House is located in Big Rock Park Central. The North and Central designations help you find the right place if you are looking for one of these specific features: the nature playground and zip line are in North, and the historic house is in Central.

Shoreline Areas and Historic Connections

Sammamish Landing offers a different kind of waterfront experience. The 8-acre site is on the east shore of Lake Sammamish and has three beach areas. It also has a historic connection: a historical artifact display and interpretive signs recall the former railroad line along the East Lake Sammamish Trail. The shoreline and beach areas define the site, while the display and signs tell the story of the railroad line. You can therefore take in both a natural and a cultural-historical perspective there.

Sammamish’s historic connections take different forms: Big Rock Park Central is home to a historic house, while the display and signs at Sammamish Landing recall a former railroad line. If you consider these themes when making your selection, a named building and the history of a railroad line offer different points of interest.

Park Grounds or a Longer Shoreline Route?

The East Lake Sammamish Trail adds a longer route to the individual parks. It is 11 miles long, fully paved, and offers a scenic shoreline connection between Redmond, Sammamish, and Issaquah. Its length, surface, shoreline setting, and connected towns offer different points of reference for your route. While the park descriptions focus on individual sites or features, this trail connects three cities.

The measurements also answer different questions: acres indicate the area of Pine Lake Park, Beaver Lake Park, and Sammamish Landing; 11 miles gives the length of the East Lake Sammamish Trail. Park area and route length are therefore separate measures. When making your choice, consider whether you want to focus on a particular park or the longer shoreline route.

Discover more destinations: Mercer Island, Kenmore, Kent, Kirkland, Baring, Seatac, Vashon Island, Bothell

For the main travel overview: King.