Trips
Phantom Lake is a relatively small lake surrounded by homes except for one small park area. Fortunately, that park has a hidden boat launch as well as a fishing pier and plenty of places to set up your gear and relax for a bit once you're done. Unfortunately, the boat launch is really more of a dock that's in an overgrown cove. I'm not entirely sure what kind of boats they're expecting, since there are cleats to tie up a larger boat and the dock is really too high off the water to easily get in a kayak, but the launch area is really too small and shallow for much more than a kayak. The lake itself is fairly small (King County says it's 63 acres) and you'll be able to paddle all the way around it's edge easily in under an hour.
​
Pros: Easy to get to and well signed. Plenty of grassy areas to set up your gear. The lake itself is a fun little paddle that would be great for beginners. No power boats are allowed on the lake, and apparently the lake is also stocked with trout.
​
Cons: Almost no parking close by. Not much to see except for some nice houses. The launch is not trivial to use, and it requires a bit of maneuvering to get out onto the lake. The grassy areas are out of view of the parking areas, so you may have to leave your gear unattended if paddling solo. Also, the number of boats allowed are limited to 12 at any one time and you need to fill out a free permit form before heading out.
​
Overall: Once you actually get out on the water it's a nice little beginner's paddle, or a fun place to screw around when you don't have much time. Although, I can only imagine the parking nightmare on Summer weekends.
4/24/18
I decided to take advantage of some unseasonably nice weather to go out for my first paddle of the season. During the winter, I'd been stopping by this park for various unimportant reasons (Pokemon Go, there's a gym and a couple pokestops here). Naturally, I wondered if it would be worth paddling, and since I wanted a nice easy warm-up paddle to start the year, I figured I'd give it a go. Turns out it isn't bad, all things considered.
​
After filling out a "boating permit" and setting up my kayak, I brought it down to the "boat launch" which is really sort of a squat dock about a foot and a half off the water. It also has a picnic table on it that was vacated right before I brought my boat down, fortunately. Once I lowered my boat into the water and then myself into the boat, I headed off through the narrow, relatively shallow (I'd estimate it was no more than 2 feet deep) opening in the reeds that lead into the lake proper.
From there it was an easy paddle around the lake. I'd estimate that it took no more than an hour for me to paddle all the way around the lake, and it was probably actually somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes. I was also just paddling at an easy, comfortable pace, although I didn't stop except to take a few pictures. There wasn't much to see other than expensive homes, one lady meditating at the end of a pier, and one dog that ran out the the end of his pier and barked at me to let me know that he was defending his home. After doing a bit more paddling around I brought my boat back to the dock, scrambled back up, and headed out. It was pretty relaxing, and I'm pretty glad that they don't allow power boats on the lake, it's really too small for them.
​
Obviously, it's earlier in the season than anyone would expect people to be out paddling around, so I don't know how much the conditions at the boat launch reflect that. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's any kind of swimming area and the fishing pier is completely fenced, so the boat launch seems to be the only option. Also, I can see parking being a nightmare on the weekends during the summer. The parking lot was almost full (all 6-7 spaces) at noon on a Tuesday in April. I can only imagine what it'll be like on a Saturday in June.
​
I had a good time paddling around, and I'll definitely be back, if only to see how things change during the summer, but I'm guessing this place isn't going to feature strongly in my upcoming trip list.
This is the only "boat launch" they have at the park.
This is the narrow passage through the reeds that leads to the boat launch from the lake side.
This is the fishing pier and a view of the rest of the park from the lake.
A more distant view of the park, as you can see there are no swimming areas or other access.
Just a view from the lake, mostly what you can see are very expensive homes.
More views, more expensive homes.
8/4/18
It was a beautiful day and hadn't gotten terribly hot yet, so I decided to go out and go for a paddle. I was feeling sort of lazy, so I didn't want anything too adventurous, and Phantom Lake fits that bill nicely. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't get a parking spot, or that there'd be too many boats for me to get on the lake (they're capped at 12), but it turns out that I didn't need to worry. I'm not sure if it was because it was the weekend of the Seafair hydroplane races and everyone was out on Lake Washington, but I didn't have any problems parking in a nice shady spot and I only saw one other boat out on the water.
​
The water in the lake was a lot lower than it was the last time I was there, back in February. That made launching a bit of a challenge, and later on getting my boat back out of the water even worse. There was about a three foot distance between the dock and the water, not to mention the couple having a picnic there when I left and the family having (what looked like) a birthday party for their daughter when I came back. Fortunately, my boat was stable enough that I could get in and out without any problems and my arms were just long enough to reach one of it's handles when I was leaving. Anyone with shorter arms might have been in trouble.
​
Once I was out on the water, though, it was as beautiful as ever. The overriding feeling I get whenever I'm there is, "Boy, I'd love to have a house on this lake." Not because the houses are beautiful, although most of them are, but rather because it's just a nice peaceful lake to play around on and I'd love to be able to take advantage of it whenever I wanted to. There's no chop on the water, even when the breeze picks up. It's just the right size, although maybe I'd get bored of it over time, but on a nice day it's hard to see how.
​
I did a couple laps around the lake and talked to the other guy who was out on his boat. He was fishing and while he hadn't caught anything when I talked to him, he swore he had hooked a huge bass, but it had gotten away before he could reel it in. The Blue Angels passed by, doing their halftime show at the hydroplane races. There was a nice moment where all four passed in tight formation just above the trees, but before I could get my camera up to take a picture they were gone.
​
Anyway, just another pleasant day on Phantom Lake.
Leaving the muddy little cove you launch from.
There were lily-pads as far as the eye could see, all in bloom.
A close up of one of the white lilies.
One of the pink lilies from a different part of the lake.
The Blue Angels were performing their stunts. This was the best shot I could get.
A view of one of the nice little coves around the lake.
A grey heron just hanging out.
The geese were having a meeting. I can only assume that it does not bode well.
Just a quick trip out to Phantom Lake and it was as lovely and peaceful as ever. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera, so no pictures this time. Not much has really changed since last year, which is somewhat of the appeal of this place. Just a nice little lake with no big surprises.
​
The one thing that I really noticed had changed was that the launch point was a bit more overgrown than usual, making the start and end of the paddle kind of annoying. The launch point has always been awful here, but the low hanging tree branches made things even worse. Still, just a minor gripe for such a lovely lake.
​
As always, my overriding take-home feeling from paddling around Phantom Lake was that I really wish I could acfford a house on this lake.
7/23/19
8/28/20
Not much chance to go out paddling this year for a lot of reasons, but I did make a quick trip out to Phantom Lake for a fun little paddle around. Just two quick laps around the lake before heading home, but it was as lovely and peaceful as ever. Of course, it was a midweek trip. Not much has changed except the put in point is perhaps even more overgrown than usual and getting your boat in and out of the water is still as annoying as ever. I did meet a couple of very good dogs (from a distance) who were doing a good job of protecting their home from waterborne invaders.
The lake is actually surrounded by homes, not that you can tell from these pictures.
The water lilies were in bloom.
It can be hard to get close to the lilies, but worth it.
I was trying to get a picture of something, but I forget what now. Anyway, there are a few spots without houses on the shore.
Another long shot of the lake. It really was a beautiful day.
Some very good dogs on a dock.
A nice little lake.
There are a few yellow lilies here too.