My husband told me not to write about this place… to remind the locals just how freakin BOMB Beaver Lake Park is. Keep it quiet, out little secret.  Well I just couldn’t resist, I have to remind the locals peeps that this place is better than ever!

“Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life” – John Muir

If you live around Issaquah you don’t really have to go far for some amazing summer lake times, our local lakes, even the smaller ones located within our neighborhoods are pretty dang great!

I decided to take another look at Beaver Lake Park a few weekends ago, I heard it had a great off leash dog park and I hadn’t been since we moved here about 4 years ago. We parked on the side where the dog park was instead of on the ‘lake side’. If you do this accidentally and have lake ‘gear’ you need to go park where you can easily reach the lake which is on the other side. If you have a pup and want to experience the dog park first you can still get to the lake but via a hiking trail only – the Beaver Lake Loop trail is 1.1 Miles, the hike is pretty flat but there were a few inclines. Check out the map of the loop trail here >> https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/beaver-lake-park-loop

Why I love Beaver Lake Park:

1. Hiking trails within the park – all walks of life allowed – including furry friends
2. Plenty of HUGE beautiful trees for shade – you can choose to be in the sun or shade and you are allowed to hang a hammock off the trees.
3. Lily pads with the most beautiful blooming flowers EVER!
4. Nice clean bathroom! This is HUGE!
5. Not overly crowded at all – no boats with motors allowed either – so the water and atmosphere is calm. We kayaked and the kids brought rafts to tug behind the kayak.
6. Grass everywhere! Love this for that picnic type feel. There are huge fields where the kids can play tag, throw the football, fly a kite – you name it!
7. Stunning pavilion if you want a covered location for a larger event.
8. Amazing totem pole carvings on the lake side – just give it a really cool touch.

“Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty, never grows old” – Franz Kafka

If hiking isn’t your thing – you can chill on some nice calm waters. The lake itself is 79 acres. I didn’t see anyone fishing but it is allowed – there are rainbow trout a plenty in this lake. Our pup Eddie loved kayaking, he was so calm.

The only way to describe the 1.1 trail is almost like you stepped into another world! Even the fallen trees looked like THINGS and people – we had so much fun finding hidden faces. This tree looked like a ‘goblin’ to my 8 year old.