Sylvan Reach: A Once-in-a-Generation Lake Washington Legacy Holding

The land itself tells the story. From the street, the site descends gradually through a canopy of mature evergreens, opening periodically to elevated outlooks before arriving at the shoreline — 220 feet of low-to-mid bank waterfront that feels at once intimate and expansive. Eagles are a frequent presence. The transition from woodland to water is unhurried, layered, and entirely private.

Three structures occupy the property, each positioned with care for separation and independence. The main residence anchors the upper portion of the site, its interior defined by wood-paneled walls, a brick fireplace, and large windows that orient every principal room toward the lake. A sunroom of floor-to-ceiling glass serves as the property's most transparent gesture — a room that does not so much frame the water as dissolve into it, erasing the boundary between interior warmth and the open expanse beyond.

A lower level continues the compound's layered character, where a second brick fireplace and corrugated metal ceiling create a self-contained retreat with a distinctly different personality — relaxed, tactile, and full of personality. A pinball machine, a daybed, and a dartboard speak to decades of life well-lived within these walls.

Set apart from the main house, the log cabin is perhaps the most quietly extraordinary structure on the property. Red-painted log walls, a sunburst-patterned gable, and a stone-bordered patio with two rocking chairs oriented directly toward Mount Rainier — it is a building that understands exactly what it is and asks nothing more of itself than to connect its occupants to the water and the light. Its porch is one of the finest seats on the island.

The three docks serve the full range of waterfront life: a 65-foot deep-water yacht moorage capable of accommodating serious vessels, a swimming dock for the warmer months, and a 30-foot boat dock for everyday use. An A-frame garage and a second residence — accessed by its own private driveway from the south — complete the compound, ensuring that the property functions as a true multi-structure holding rather than a single home with outbuildings.

Sylvan Reach is offered with survey and feasibility documentation for the waterfront parcels — a practical acknowledgment that this property's greatest chapter may still be ahead of it.

Mercer Island occupies a singular position in the geography of the greater Seattle region — a self-contained community of approximately 25,000 residents set entirely within Lake Washington, connected to both Seattle and the Eastside by Interstate 90 yet insulated from the pace of either. It is the kind of place that inspires fierce loyalty among those who live there, and quiet envy among those who do not.

The island's southwestern shore is among its most coveted addresses, and for reasons that are easy to understand once you have spent an afternoon there. The exposure is due southwest, which means long summer evenings with the sun tracking toward Mount Rainier before setting behind the Olympic Mountains — a sequence of light that residents describe, without exaggeration, as among the finest in the Pacific Northwest. The view corridor is open, unobstructed, and oriented toward one of the most iconic landscapes in the American West.

Mercer Island incorporated as a city in 1960, and its character has been shaped ever since by a community that has consistently prioritized green space, environmental stewardship, and quality of life. Approximately one-third of the island is protected open space, including Luther Burbank Park — a 77-acre lakefront park on the island's northeastern shore that offers swimming beaches, tennis courts, a dog park, and one of the most popular off-leash areas in King County. The island's trail network connects neighborhoods to shoreline, and the community maintains a small-town atmosphere that feels genuinely rare given its proximity to a major metropolitan center.

Downtown Mercer Island, known locally as the Town Center, is a walkable commercial district anchored by independent restaurants, specialty retailers, a farmers market, and the Mercer Island Community and Event Center. The island's public school system is consistently ranked among the strongest in Washington State, a fact that draws families from across the region and contributes to the community's long-term stability and desirability.

Transit access is a meaningful advantage that is easy to overlook until you need it. The Mercer Island Station on the Sound Transit Link light rail line provides direct, car-free access to downtown Seattle in approximately ten minutes and to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in under forty — a connection that fundamentally changes the calculus of island living. For those who drive, the property's location provides access to both the Seattle and Eastside on-ramps of I-90 within minutes.

The waterfront itself is the defining feature of island life, and southwest Mercer Island's shoreline is among the most active and beautiful on Lake Washington. Seaplanes cross the water. Sailboats and kayaks share the surface with the occasional yacht. On clear days — and there are many between June and October — Mount Rainier dominates the southern horizon with an authority that never becomes ordinary.

To own waterfront on Mercer Island has always been to hold something finite and irreplaceable. To own 220 feet of it, across two parcels, on the southwest shore, with three docks and a direct sightline to the mountain, is to hold something else entirely.