Kenmore sits at the top of Lake Washington, where the Sammamish River slips in and the long freshwater lake that defines eastern Seattle finally runs out of room. For a rider coming back from the North Cascades Highway, this is the last relaxed corner before the city.
The lake is the main character. Lake Washington was lowered by about nine feet around 1916, when the Ship Canal and the Hiram Chittenden Locks linked it with Puget Sound, and the change left the old shoreline high and dry and turned the water from a fresh, slow lake into a busy boating channel. At Kenmore, the Kenmore Air Harbor is a base for seaplanes that fly to the San Juan Islands and British Columbia, and you can watch them land and take off on the lake. Locals say the sound of a floatplane is the soundtrack of summer.
The Burke-Gilman Trail, an old railroad right of way, runs along the shore, and on a fine weekend it is packed with cyclists, runners and families, making the roads near it busy. Bothell, just beyond, has a restored old town and a river path. On the north side of the lake, the roads that climb through Lake Forest Park have tight bends under tall firs, though the speed limits are low and the neighbours are watchful.
The key issue for a rider is traffic. State Route 522 is one of the busiest roads in the north end, and at commuting hours it moves slowly, so avoid it between about four and six in the afternoon. Highway 9, to the east, is a quieter way to head north to Snohomish and Monroe, with farm views and a mix of curves and straights.
The area has all the services you need, with petrol stations and supermarkets on every main road. Lake Forest Park's Town Center has coffee shops and a good bookstore, and Kenmore has several restaurants on the waterfront.
Park for a minute at Log Boom Park and watch the water. In the evening, the light across the lake can be golden.