Sammamish, Washington was just awarded the honorable spot of #9 out of the top 50 Best Places to Live in America for 2018 by Time.com! And it’s not the first time Sammamish has won a place in the heart of the its residents in the USA. In 2015 Sammamish was voted the Best Suburb to Raise a Family and in 2012 it was also voted America’s Friendliest Town.

Peppered with stunning lakes and the Snoqualmie River running nearby, the towering green rolling hills of Sammamish act as a perfect escape from the big city life of Seattle. One of the many reasons the Sammamish is booming is its proximity to beautiful spaces, miles of trails, access thousands of acres of parks and some of the most pristine lakes in Washington.

Sammamish has been proved time and time again as a picture-perfect place to raise a family while keeping an easy commute around to the top leading corporate campuses.

If you look through reviews written by residents about what it’s like to live in Sammamish, you’ll see that not only do locals overwhelmingly love it here, but it’s also one of the safest neighborhoods in the entire state. It’s located a short 10-minute drive to Redmond, Bellevue, Issaquah and only 20 minutes from downtown Seattle. It’s a suburb with all of the conveniences and benefits of living next to a large city.

Sammamish is growing quickly like all of the surrounding Seattle areas, with the growth have come beautiful new community centers, a new library was recently built with floor to ceiling windows, a glassed in fireplace and even a bicycle repair station. A beautiful new YMCA was just built complete with a nursery and several pools including an Olympic sized lap pool. The popular farmer’s market is held during the summers with live music and local produce for a family friendly filled day. Sammamish has everything you need is within arm’s reach: parks, schools, lakes, nature and culture.

• Sammamish Landing is the best place to swim on Lake Sammamish and allows exhilarating boating opportunities to launch your boat from the park. Unobstructed views of Mount Rainier can be seen above the lake on a clear day. Two public docs are available for swimming and docking. The East Lake Sammamish trail is located right next to the park, a paved 11 mile trail wide enough to bring the family with their bicycles to enjoy the lake while getting exorcise. Travel on your bike all the way from Redmond through Sammamish to Issaquah on this beautiful trail that was part of the rails to trails program.

• The Evans Creek Preserve is 179 acres of a stunning, natural park with 3.5 miles of trails or more if you choose to weave through the different options of paths splitting off into different directions. It’s great for small children and dogs, the footpaths are an easy walk with a mingling of nature, meadows, forests, streams and hidden forest gnomes to keep the little ones on their toes.

• Ebright Creek Parkis a gorgeous 12-acre gem hidden in a neighborhood. With three distinct areas. You’ll find basketball and tennis courts in the front, from there you’ll find a well-built wooden walk way guiding you to a large playground and climbing wall up to a giant slide. Keep walking to find a quiet meadow and trails in the back. Two streams run through the park making peaceful bubbling noises adding to the tranquility of the space.

• Pine Lake Park, is a popular, 19-acre, waterside park with a long public doc to walk along and sunbathe. The Lake is flawless and reflective, showing cedar trees along its shores. Sometimes the lake has misty mornings with low laying fog rising up above the water. Go swimming on a hot day and bring your rafts and kayaks in the summer. This is a good lake for small kids as it has designated swim spaces with shallow water and lifeguards on duty. Big shady trees give shelter on sunny days while you picnic.

• Beaver Lake Park, has 83 acres of trails and fishing year-round (with a permit). This is yet another waterside gem in Sammamish. With two parking areas and street parking, it’s easily accessible. Beaver Lake Park has everything; waterside grills, shelters, ball fields, a dog park and of course, the forest. Clear your head after a long day by spending some alone time in the trees drinking in the soft breezes and scent of evergreens. With no accessible boat ramp, only boats you can carry can be brought to this tranquil spot. The small lake size means that it warms up well in the summer for swimming.

• Duthie Hill Park, If you’re not into mountain biking, it’s time to start. This park is amazing! 120 acres of trails connected to three other parks making a total of 2,000 acres of trails to cover. Duthie Hill is the mother of all mountain biking parks, with beautiful guided jumps, wooden bikeways and smooth, root free bike trails under a soaring canopy of evergreens. There are regular cross-country paths here for beginning riders, so there’s no need to feel intimidated if you’re new to the scene. For advanced mountain bikers there is no end of technical jumps and turns to practice your skills. It’s open year-round, so come get nice and muddy when you need a winter pick-me-up.

• Soaring Eagle Regional Park covers 600 acres, with 12 miles of trails. Make your walk in the woods as difficult or as easy as you’d like with a wide flat trail available or rolling hill options. This park is great for any form of road or mountain biking as it has paved and unpaved trails, running or hiking and if you have a horse bring her out as well. This is a popular place for equestrians. The grounds are loaded with wildlife, if you are lucky, or not you might spot a bear, cougar, mountain lion or dozens of birds that live here and pass through. Bring bear bells or a can of bear spray just to be on the safe side, but it is frequently used, so most of the animals know when to stay away.

• Big Rock Parkis a whimsical new park with natural themed play structures. A slide is built right into a hill, different heights of logs to jump on, tunnels are built through slopes, there’s a giant bird’s nest where you can pretend to be a bird and a hulking wood gnome built of sticks. Big Rock Park designers had beautiful visions of natural and imaginative play for kids. The trails are easy and enjoyable. Try making a woodsy scavenger hunt for your little ones, find a rock shaped like a heart and a big leaf maple tree. The city is planning to use this space as a place for educators to bring classes. It’s a fun and interesting park, feeding imaginative play in children by using the labor and education of high school students to create it.

Sammamish is an exceptional place to raise children, while adults love it here just as much. With friendly neighbors, safe neighborhoods and tons to do, it’s refreshing to know there are still places like this.