Kenmore sits where the Sammamish River meets Lake Washington. HistoryLink places the city along the lake’s northernmost shore. OFM’s April 1, 2026 estimate counts 24,600 residents, up from 23,914 in the 2020 Census. Buyers get a public beach and dock on the lake, a state park with forest trails, and access to the Burke-Gilman Trail.
On the lake
The city’s Log Boom Park has a sandy beach, a public dock with daytime moorage, a launch for hand-powered watercraft and direct access to the Burke-Gilman Trail. The city describes a 3.9-acre park with more than 1,200 feet of Lake Washington shoreline. Since it reopened after renovation on June 30, 2022, the park also has an accessible concrete promenade, Jennifer Dixon’s “Flume” sculpture and the Kenmore History Path.
Seaplanes are part of the view. HistoryLink notes that Kenmore Air opened on the Lake Washington shoreline in 1946.
Saint Edward State Park
Near the north end of Lake Washington, Saint Edward State Park is a day-use park with sprawling lawns and forested trails set around Romanesque Revival-style brick buildings, as Washington State Parks describes it. The park lists hiking, biking, mountain biking, paddleboarding, swimming, ball fields and a playground among its activities and amenities.
From mill town to city
For centuries the Sts’ahp-absh, a subgroup of both the Duwamish and Sammamish tribes, inhabited the banks of the Sammamish River, HistoryLink writes, and established the village of Tl’awh-ah-dees where the river meets Lake Washington. In 1901 John McMaster and Chris Kruse opened a shingle mill on leased waterfront, and McMaster named the settlement after his former home of Kenmore, Ontario. The first Kenmore bridge across the Sammamish River came in 1917.
Kenmore stayed unincorporated for most of the 20th century. Voters said no six times between 1950 and 1970, and Kenmore became a city on August 31, 1998.
Getting around
SR 522, Bothell Way, is the main road. Sound Transit is building the Stride S3 bus rapid transit line, with three Kenmore stations: 61st Ave NE, 68th Ave NE and the Kenmore Park-and-Ride. As of October 2026, Sound Transit projects a 2028 opening, with planned service every 10 to 15 minutes, running west to Shoreline South/148th Station on Link light rail and east to Bothell.
Living here
Kenmore’s days can start on the Burke-Gilman and end on the Log Boom dock, watching the seaplanes come in. Chase Hedin is a Managing Broker who works out of Woodinville. If Kenmore is on your list alongside Lake Forest Park or Bothell, or you’re ready to sell, he’s glad to talk it through. Start a conversation · What’s my home worth?