99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Sammamish
35 miles of mapped trail cross Sammamish, 1.7 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Beaver Lake Park (2.2 mi), Beaver Lake Preserve (1.8 mi), Big Rock Park Central (1.7 mi). 528 acres are parks and preserves, 7.9 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #116 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
386 acres · of 20.4 sq mi of land
Trails
35 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
528 ac
7.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
45 mi
21 mi lanes · 18 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
10
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Sammamish?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sammamish is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #116 of 285 in Washington. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sammamish’s overall grade.
Water is 15% of Sammamish’s area (4 of 24 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
3% of Sammamish’s land. Water is left out: Sammamish has 20.4 square miles of land and 3.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Sammamish’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city323 ac
County103 ac
Local Park · 305 acLocal Conservation Area · 72 acLocal Other or Unknown · 42 acRecreation or Education Easement · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 8 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Beaver Lake Park
Local Park
County
79
Open
Klahanie Park
Local Park
Town or city
64
Open
Beaver Lake Preserve
Local Conservation Area
Town or city
56
Open
Loth129
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city
42
Open
Sammamish Commons
Local Park
Town or city
40
Open
East Sammamish Park
Local Park
Town or city
20
Open
Big Rock Park Central
Local Park
Town or city
20
Open
Pine Lake Park
Local Park
Town or city
18
Open
Steven & Rosina Kipper Preserve
Local Conservation Area
Town or city
17
Open
Big Rock Park
Local Park
Town or city
16
Open
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
147 places to go in Sammamish
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
The best walking months in Sammamish: May to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Daylight (h)
8.8
10.2
11.8
13.6
15.1
16.0
15.6
14.3
12.5
10.7
9.2
8.4
High (°F)
47
49
53
58
65
69
76
76
70
60
51
45
Rain (in)
6.6
4.5
5.2
3.9
2.8
2.2
1.0
1.2
2.2
4.9
7.2
6.8
July is the driest month (1.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 7.2 inches fall in November, the wettest month. The climate in Sammamish →
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sammamish
Where can I hike in Sammamish?
The longest trail networks: Beaver Lake Park, 2.2 miles; Beaver Lake Preserve, 1.8 miles; Big Rock Park Central, 1.7 miles; Big Rock Park North, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sammamish is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 4% for a Washington town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Sammamish’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Klahanie Community Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sammamish?
45 miles of bike routes are on the map: 21 of painted or protected lanes, 18 of off-road paths and 6.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Sammamish?
48,804 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sammamish or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 569 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Sammamish have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #116 of 285 in Washington. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Sammamish neighbors.
Photo: Steven Pavlov · CC BY-SA 4.0