Lake Limerick began as a development project. In 1966, after a Seattle contractor dammed Cranberry Creek, the developer offered more than 1,100 lots around the new water as "Christmas Tree Country" — $1,895 each, with $80 down. The result averages nine feet deep and reaches twenty-four at its deepest. The association that now owns the dam still operates the lake by calendar. In early April, boards go into the outlet weir no faster than an inch a day, raising the water as much as a foot by the trout plant and fourth-Saturday fishing opener. The WDFW access site opens for fishing-related use over the same season. Summer brings a slalom course and an association speed limit of thirty-five miles an hour beyond the buoy line, from ten to seven. By October 31 the boards come out for migrating salmon. Shoreward of the buoys, and in King's Cove, the limit remains three miles an hour, no wake.
curator · lake-level · as of Sep 3, 2026
The facts
- Surface area 0.5 km² usgs-3dhp · lake-level · as of Aug 28, 2026
- Nearest town Bayshore · 4.4 km osm-overpass · lake-level · as of Aug 28, 2026
- Bird species (within 25 mi) 178 ebird-api-v2 · lake-level · as of Aug 28, 2026
- Bird diversity index 0.77 ebird-api-v2 · lake-level · as of Aug 28, 2026
- Median home value $412,320 census-acs-2024-b25077 · block-group-level · as of Aug 28, 2026
- Water clarity Clear curator · lake-level · as of Sep 3, 2026
- Night sky Dark skies viirs-black-marble-vnp46a4 · lake-level · as of Sep 3, 2026
- Surroundings Exurban — scattered homes past the suburbs curator · lake-level · as of Sep 3, 2026
- Water origin Reservoir curator · lake-level · as of Sep 3, 2026
In more detail
- Climate
- four-season; cool winters (~41°F mean), mild summers (~63°F); ~68 in precip/yr noaa-normals-1991-2020-descriptor · lake-level · as of Aug 28, 2026
- Public access
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife operates a public Lake Limerick access area from the fourth Saturday in April through October 31. Use is restricted to fishing, launching boats for fishing, and parking while fishing; the site has one concrete ramp, parking, and a restroom. This is verified partial and seasonal public access, not unrestricted lake access. curator · lake-level · as of Jul 19, 2026
- Dogs and pets
- high — 21 dog parks are mapped within 25 miles; Lake Limerick's seasonal WDFW access site is public for fishing and fishing-boat launch use, and Washington rules require pets to remain leashed at designated access sites. curator · lake-level · as of Jul 19, 2026
- Property tax
- 0.73% ACS effective-rate proxy (2024 ACS 5-year; Mason County anchor: $3,006 median real-estate taxes paid ÷ $411,800 median owner-occupied home value; Washington proxy 0.81%, -0.08 percentage points). census-acs-2024-property-tax · county-level · as of Dec 31, 2024
Where it’s heading
Stable hand-rated for v0.1 · lake-level · as of Sep 3, 2026
Stable by the mini-pass criterion — an established covenant community sixty years old, built out from weekend lots into year-round homes, with no documented growth vector: the 1966 offering's 1,100-plus lots are the same lots today (Spread 3), block group 4 of tract 9605 holds 2,408 ±531 people in 1,182 ±239 units with only 13.5% seasonal against 18.4% county-wide (ACS 2024 5-yr), and the Journal's 2026 feature reports "not many campers left." Price is a level, not a slope — ACS block-group median $395,300 on the sheet vs Census Reporter's $421,400 ±$96,040 for the same cell (Spread 7, unreconciled), Mason County $411,800 ±$13,841 — and the only trajectory is search-extraction (Mason County Feb 2026 median ≈$440K, +1.1% y/y; ZIP 98584 ≈$414K, +2.0%). Hedges: no dated waterfront price series was fetched (Redfin 403; Census API keyless), no permit series exists on the sheet, and the county has "never regulated" short-term rentals while the association governs renters by a recorded three-strikes resolution — pressure signals are governance, not growth.