South Cove | Lakeside living in Issaquah keeps families coming

Tucked on the southwest end of Lake Sammamish lies a group of small neighborhoods dotted with parks, large and small. In fact, the area is bookmarked by 512-acre Lake Sammamish State Park and 24-acre Timberlake Park.

In the middle of one of those neighborhoods, South Cove, a private 3-acre park is a hidden gem that unites neighbors.

Surrounded by houses, the park has a walking trail, a children's playground, tennis courts, a beach and plenty of open grassy areas where kids frequently play games like soccer or hide and seek. South Cove also hosts social events in the park.

South Cove is part of a larger community that was annexed into Issaquah a couple of years ago. It's a sought-after area, with its lakeside location and family-friendly feel.

Developed in the 1970s and early 1980s, the former lakeside farm is now divided into 11 neighborhoods. The largest are South Cove, Greenwood Point, Meerwood and Sammamish Beach Club. All 11 are unified as part of the South Lake Sammamish Association.

They sit between Interstate 90 and the lake, making it an easy commute to Seattle, Bellevue and Issaquah as well as to outdoor activities at Snoqualmie Pass.

Home prices vary widely, ranging from about $500,000 to $8 million, according to real-estate agents.

Most of the houses retain the original design, but some homeowners have torn down the original structures and built newer, larger homes. Others have updated their homes.

It's a stable neighborhood, and while home sales may lag in other areas, South Cove resident and real-estate agent Caren Connor recently sold two homes with multiple offers that went over the asking price — a testament, she says, to the desirability of the community.

"People really want to live in this neighborhood," says Connor, a real-estate agent with Coldwell Banker Bain. She says people choose the area for its strong sense of community and "put a lot of sweat equity into their homes."

Many residents say the family-friendly nature of this area is its biggest draw. The community is social, with different neighborhoods hosting numerous holiday and seasonal activities.

There are also a number of active residents orchestrating a variety of athletic events such as kick-boxing classes, walks, jogs, tennis tournaments and pickle-ball games. "Chicks on Sticks" is a group of moms who drop their kids off at the bus stop in the winter, then head up to Snoqualmie Pass to spend the day skiing, arriving back in time to meet their kids after school.

And the residents like their parks. In the Lake West development, neighbors rallied to save the once rundown "Blackberry Park," which technically is not a park but open space. It earned its nickname because it was overrun with blackberry brambles.

Neighbors raised funds and received a grant from Starbucks to fix it up. Now a popular gathering spot, Blackberry Park has a sport court and children's play area.

South Cove resident Nancy Outcalt says many moms in the neighborhood have a strong support network. It begins when the kids are small, with a baby-sitting co-op in the neighborhood.

"At an early age, that starts fostering relationships among moms," Outcalt says.

Another sign of stability is that a number of residents move within the neighborhoods in South Lake Sammamish.

Outcalt moved to South Cove from the adjacent Weatherwood development a year ago. When she and her husband moved to Weatherwood from Seattle 12 years ago, they thought it would be for just a few years.

Shirley Jaffe, who has lived in South Cove for 30 years, downsized a few years ago, moving to a rambler a few houses away from the home where she and her husband were the original owners.

She says the neighborhood hasn't changed much over the years but she enjoys seeing new families moving in and raising their kids.

Now her great-grandchildren play in the South Cove park where her children and grandchildren once played.