Bellevue sits on the eastern shore of Lake Washington, directly across from Seattle, and reaches east to the edge of Lake Sammamish. OFM’s April 1, 2026 estimate puts it at 158,300 residents, up from 151,854 in the 2020 Census. Buyers here get a green park in the middle of downtown, a beach on Meydenbauer Bay, and, since 2026, light rail across the lake.
A park in the middle of downtown
Bellevue Downtown Park covers 21 acres in the city center. A half-mile promenade lined with a double row of shade trees, along with a stepped canal, leads to a 240-foot-wide waterfall that spills into a reflecting pond. There’s a 10-acre lawn for picnics, with the skyline and Mount Rainier behind it, plus a play area and formal gardens. HistoryLink notes the city designed and built the park in the 1980s as a community gathering place just south of Bellevue Square. The park’s water spray playground offers seasonal water play, and the city posts the schedule on its Downtown Park page.
Meydenbauer Bay
After a first phase of construction, the expanded Meydenbauer Bay Park opened in 2019 with a large beach, a curved pedestrian pier, and a beach house with restrooms and showers. It also has a viewing terrace, a hillside woodland, a play area and a historic whaling building. The city lists it as a launch site for non-motorized boats, with seasonal canoe and kayak rentals. King County established the park in the 1930s, and it became part of the City of Bellevue in 1953, the city says.
The bay carries the name of one of the area’s first homesteaders. HistoryLink writes that William Meydenbauer, a Seattle baker, settled beside it in 1869. Bellevue grew as a logging and milling center, a farming area and a freshwater port before it incorporated in 1953.
Work close to home
Amazon identifies Bellevue as part of its Puget Sound headquarters presence. At its Bellevue 600 tower downtown it has opened The Meadow, a 1.75-acre public open space.
Getting around
Two floating bridges tie Bellevue to Seattle. HistoryLink notes that the 1940 Lacey V. Murrow bridge, on today’s I-90, turned Bellevue from a farming community into a commuter suburb, and the Evergreen Point bridge followed in 1963. I-405, completed in 1971, runs north and south through the city.
Link light rail came next. The first Eastside segment of the 2 Line opened in April 2024. Since March 28, 2026, the 2 Line has crossed Lake Washington to Seattle, and Sound Transit says it now runs between Lynnwood and Downtown Redmond.
Living here
Bellevue pairs a 21-acre park downtown and a public beach on Meydenbauer Bay with a light rail ride across the lake. If you’re comparing Bellevue with Kirkland or Redmond, or planning to sell in Bellevue, Chase Hedin, Managing Broker, can help you weigh the options. Start a conversation · What’s my home worth?