Kirkland’s downtown meets Lake Washington at Marina Park, where a sandy beach and a public dock sit close to downtown restaurants and shops. The city is on the lake’s northeastern shore. OFM’s April 1, 2026 estimate counts 98,860 residents, up from 92,175 in the 2020 Census. Buyers here get public lakefront parks and a rail-trail through town.
Downtown on the lake
The city describes Marina Park as downtown and close to many restaurants and shops. It has a sandy beach, a boat launch, public art, and an open-air pavilion with views across Lake Washington to Seattle. The park hosts many of Kirkland’s special events, including the July 4th celebration and the Summer Concert Series. The city offers 82 uncovered moorage slips year-round across two locations (Marina Park and the 2nd Avenue South dock). As of October 2026, the city anticipates dock and shoreline work in 2027–2028.
Juanita Beach
North of downtown, Juanita Beach Park covers 21.9 acres with 1,000 feet of Lake Washington shoreline. A U-shaped dock encloses a sandy, shallow designated swimming area; the city provides lifeguards during its published summer season. On land there are a playground, sand volleyball and tennis courts, ballfields, picnic shelters, a fenced off-leash dog area and interpretive signs about the park’s past. Dorr and Eliza Forbes settled the property in 1876, and their second house still stands next to the ballfield. From June through September the park hosts the Juanita Friday Market, a weekly farmers market.
A trail through town
The Cross Kirkland Corridor is a 5.75-mile stretch of former rail line through the heart of Kirkland. The city calls it the first improved section of the regional Eastrail. Its interim trail is 10 feet wide and surfaced in crushed gravel. It runs from the South Kirkland Park & Ride through the Totem Lake Business District and is open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. The line was first built in 1904 as part of the Lake Washington Belt Line, and Kirkland bought its segment in 2012, according to the city. The city’s Cross Kirkland Corridor Master Plan, adopted in 2014, calls for future improvements including paving the trail and adding transit. That is a plan concept; the city’s corridor page gives no funding or schedule for it.
Peter Kirk’s town
HistoryLink writes that the Popham and MacGregor families homesteaded along the lake in 1871. The city is named for Peter Kirk, a British steel industrialist who planned a steel town here that never materialized. Kirkland incorporated in 1905. When ferries crossed the lake, HistoryLink notes, Kirkland’s landing could get you to Seattle in just over 30 minutes. Houghton merged with Kirkland in 1968, and most of Juanita and Rose Hill were annexed in 1988.
Work close to home
As of October 2026, Google lists two Kirkland offices, its 6th St Campus and Kirkland Urban, on its official locations page.
Living here
Kirkland gives you a beach and a public dock at the foot of downtown, Juanita Beach’s designated swimming area, and 5.75 miles of rail-trail. If you’re weighing Kirkland against Bellevue or Redmond, or planning to sell in Kirkland, Chase Hedin, Managing Broker, can help you think it through. Start a conversation · What’s my home worth?