Loon Lake, WA

Loon Lake is a Stevens County census-designated place about twenty-eight miles north of Spokane, spread along the lake that gives it its name. The 2020 census counted 898 residents. U.S. 395 and Washington 292 are the main approaches, and the local post office carries ZIP code 99148. The lake sets the pace here: fishing access, resorts, wooded shorelines, and the road north toward Springdale all meet in one loose settlement.

White settlement in the area grew during the 1870s around logging, copper mining, agriculture, lumber milling, and ice gathering. A school district finally formed in 1889, and the two-story Old Loon Lake Schoolhouse was completed in 1929. Students moved to a newer building in 1992, leaving the old school for the historical society that still uses it as a local archive and gathering place. Loon Lake has a surprisingly deep institutional memory for a scattered lake community. The water brings people in, but the old schoolhouse is what gives the place a sense of continuity.