Mountlake Terrace, WA

Mountlake Terrace was founded in 1949, when developers converted a disused airfield into housing for veterans. The community exceeded 5,000 residents within five years and incorporated in 1954; the 2020 census counted 21,286. It sits on Snohomish County’s southern edge, 13 miles north of Seattle. The city’s southwestern corner reaches 100-acre Lake Ballinger, where a former municipal golf course became the 42-acre Ballinger Park in 2013. In all, the city maintains 18 parks and 262 acres of open space. Tour de Terrace, established in 1993, takes place each July as part of Seafair. Mountlake Terrace Station opened as a bus hub in 2009, and Link light-rail service began in 2024.