Rattlesnake Lake is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, located in Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area in

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 st ...

, approximately east of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, south of

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

History

The town of Moncton existed in 1906–1915 around the northern edge of Rattlesnake Lake. In the spring of 1915, it was destroyed by flooding caused by seepage of water from the newly created Chester Morse Lake into Rattlesnake Lake, and later condemned. Hardly any traces remain.

Management

Rattlesnake Lake is part of the Rattlesnake Lake Recreation Area, which is owned and managed by Seattle Public Utilities as a non-development buffer to the protected municipal watershed lands. The watershed supplies 65% of the Seattle region’s unfiltere
drinking water
to nearly 800,000 people. However, Rattlesnake Lake itself is not used for drinking water and is spring-fed by the nearby Cedar River.

Attractions

Rattlesnake Lake attracts many people during the summer. Th
Rattlesnake Ledge Hiking Trail
ascends over of well maintained switchbacks from the north shore of the lake to the scenic Rattlesnake Ledge viewpoint that overlooks the lake. Fishing is also popular. The lake has many tree stumps which are exposed when the water level is low enough. The exposed stumps are often used by birds as nesting sites. The spacious, grassy shores around the lake are used for many outdoor activities, including

slacklining Slacklining refers to the act of walking, running or balancing along a suspended length of flat webbing that is tensioned between two anchors. Slacklining is similar to slack rope walking and tightrope walking. Slacklines differ from tightwir ...

and picnicking. The park serves as trailheads for both the

Snoqualmie Valley Trail The Snoqualmie Valley Regional Trail is a rail trail in King County, Washington. The trail follows a portion of the former alignment of the Milwaukee Road, which was constructed in 1911 and abandoned in 1973. The trail begins at Rattlesnake ...

and the

Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and the Iron Horse Trail, is a rail trail that spans most of the U.S. state of Washington. It follows the former railway roadbed of the Chicago, Milwaukee ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Lakes of Washington (state) Lakes of King County, Washington Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest