Ballinger Park

ALERT!

Ballinger Boat Ramp, Fishing Pier, Boat Dock, and Restrooms are now OPEN!

23000 Lakeview Drive

Ballinger Park is a 55 acre Park on the north and east shores of Lake Ballinger. This park houses a multipurpose sport complex, the Mickey Corso Community Clubhouse, a 42 acre natural park area and a boat launch.

The sports complex consists of a full length multipurpose sports field used for baseball, softball and soccer. The playground amenities include two play structures and picnic tables.

The Mickey Corso Community Clubhouse is operated by the Mountlake Terrace Senior Center with community programming and available room rentals.

The Boat Launch is located on the east shore of the 100 acre Lake Ballinger and offers one of the only public boating, fishing and swimming areas on the lake. Amenities include a boat launch, fishing pier, beach access, picnic tables, barbecues, swimming beach and restroom facilities. Year round fishing is available.

The natural park area is a former nine-hole golf course converted to a natural area with nature trails, ponds, hall creek and is adjacent to the Interurban Trail to the west and the Lakeview Trail to the east. A Master Plan for this area of the park was adopted in 2015 and can be found here: Ballinger Park Master Plan

Swim Beach Sample Results

Samples are collected by the city weekly during summer months from the swim beach at Lake Ballinger, typically on Monday mornings. These tests are taken to ensure the water is safe for swimming and other recreational activities. This test indicates the presence of fecal matter that is naturally present in people, dogs, geese, ducks, and other warm-blooded animals.

If an individual or dog swims at the beach during periods when levels of bacteria are high, they may get sick. Common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, stomachaches, headaches, or fever. Children, elderly people, and people with weakened immune systems have a higher risk of getting sick.

If the sample is less than 200 cfu/100ml, the beach is OK for swimming.

If the sample is greater than 200 cfu/100ml, we immediately retest.

If the second sample comes back higher than 200cfu/100ml, we close the beach. If the second sample is less than 200 cfu/100ml, we continue to monitor with increased attention on conditions, but do not close the swimming beach.

Email lreed@mltwa.gov for more information.

*cfu=Colony Forming Units

September 6th, 2022

6 cfu/100ml

Note: From time to time, we receive an abnormally high fecal coliform result in a sample, such as the one on 6/27. It is difficult to pinpoint why this occurs. When this happens, we immediately retest and, if the result is high again, we close the beach. In this case, when retested, the sample came back well below the 200 cfu threshold value, and we did not close the beach

Rental Information

For field reservation and information contact the Mountlake Terrace Pavilion at 425-776-9173

For information on renting the Lakeview Room at the Ballinger Clubhouse please contact the Mountlake Terrace Senior Center at 425-672-2407.

History

The area featured beautiful Lake Ballinger that is bordered by Edmonds to the west and Mountlake Terrace to the east. The lake was originally called Lake McAleer after Hugh McAleer, a logger who owned much of the land around the lake. The island in the lake was said to have been discovered by Ira Bartholomew in 1890 who built a homestead on the island with his wife, Julia.

Judge Richard Achilles Ballinger (who was elected Seattle Mayor in 1904) was fishing on the lake and struck up a conversation with Ira Bartholomew. He purchased the property in 1901 and named it after his father (Richard Henry Ballinger) who was a Civil War Veteran. Richard A. Ballinger later became Secretary of the Interior in the William Taft administration.

The Great Western Lumber Company operated from the northwest shore of Lake Ballinger in the early 1900's. The lumber company floated logs across the lake to the mill which was located adjacent to the Interurban Railway that delivered supplies between Seattle and Everett.