Sammamish, WA

Sammamish, Washington

This city lies on the coast surrounded by green fields and hills east of Lake Sammamish, and the population is currently around 65,000. The city has won numerous awards in the past – Forbes magazine ranked Sammamish 1st in 2012 as the “Friendliest Town in the United States” and the 5th “Safest City in America”. In 2007, CNN ranked Sammamish as the 11th “Best Place to Live in the United States”.

Sammamish's public-school system is served by two school districts - Lake Washington School District and Issaquah School District. Between the two districts there are 3 high schools, 4 middle schools, 11 elementary schools, and 1 private school. There is also a fairly new college in Sammamish – Central Washington University.

Beaver Lake Park

Beaver Lake Park was originally a private resort in the 1930s known as the Four Seasons Resort. In 1960, the resort was then turned into a Catholic Youth Organization where they ran a camp called Camp Cabrini. Finally, in 1985, the land purchased by the county and it has been known as Beaver Lake Park ever since. The park consists of 83 acres of land with parking lots located on the north and west side of the park with a large forested section and trails located in the middle.

Some amenities offered here include rental facilities, large grassy meadows, sports fields, a playground, picnic shelters, an off-leash dog park and restrooms. The park also has a traditional Native American-style lodge that has been used to host weddings in the past. Every October the annual "Nightmare at Beaver Lake" is held here, which is an elaborate and terrifying haunted house-type attraction.

Sammamish Highlands Mall

This shopping center has nearly 40 different stores, services, and restaurants including but not limited to Safeway, Bartell Drugs, Trader Joe’s, MOD Pizza, Petco, Starbucks, and Emerald City Smoothie. This mall is very popular with nearly 20,000 cars visiting the location every day.

Soaring Eagle Regional Park

Soaring Eagle Regional Park is a whopping 790 acres of forests, wetlands, and the habitat for hundreds of animals. The park sits above Patterson Creek on the edge of the Sammamish Plateau, and its forested corridors are connected to the nearby Beaver Lake Preserve, Hazel Wolf Wetlands, and Patterson Creek Natural Area. This relationship between the 4 nature areas improves the habitats for wildlife living in the area such as black bear, bobcat, black tail deer, and over 40 species of birds. Throughout Soaring Eagle Park there are 12 miles of trails used for dog walking, jogging, hiking, biking, and horse-riding.

Rig-a-Palooza

This free event offers food trucks, bouncy houses, balloon artists, and face painting for the community. In addition, tons of cool and interesting vehicles are provided by agencies and businesses in Sammamish to put on display at this event. Some rigs you can expect to find there include police patrol cars, tractors, bomb disposal trucks, rescue vehicles, fire engines, a library-to-go van, and even a SWAT tank!