Fivemile Lake is located in southern

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the ...

in the Lakeland South

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

. It has a popular park on its eastern bank. Fivemile Lake is one of several lakes in Lakeland South, including Lake Killarney,

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial la ...

, and Trout Lake.

History

Military Road runs along the eastern shore of the lake, next to the park. This road, built in the 1850s, once linked

Fort Steilacoom ''For the adjacent park, see Fort Steilacoom Park'' Fort Steilacoom was founded by the U.S. Army in 1849 near Lake Steilacoom. It was among the first military fortifications built by the U.S. north of the Columbia River in what was to become the ...

with

Fort Bellingham Fort Bellingham (1856–1860) was a U.S. Army fort built to prevent attacks by Indians from Canada and from Russian territory, on the bayside villages of Fairhaven, Sehome and Whatcom. The site for the new fort was on a prairie that overlooked ...

. The road's construction was authorized in 1857 to defend against Native American hostilities and the threat of foreign naval attacks. The road would help move supplies and troops between the forts, and would encourage further settlement of the area. Construction began in 1858, and the road was completed by 1860. The road connects Fivemile Lake to Star Lake and Angle Lake.

Description

Fivemile Lake is popular for fishing. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout, and also has bluegill and

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, bu ...

. Due to high nutrient concentrations, Fivemile lake is moderately

eutrophic Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplan ...

. Fivemile Lake Park is run by King County. Its amenities include fields, trails, and a dock. A new playground opened in 2016. On April 5, 2023, one kayaker was killed and another was hospitalized after their boats capsized. The fire chief stressed the importance of life jackets, as neither kayaker was wearing one.

References

{{reflist Lakes of King County, Washington Parks in King County, Washington Lakes of Washington (state)