Lake Tapps · Bonney Lake · Sumner

Lake TappsHome Team 206.940.0942
Looking over the wooden bow of a small boat at water level across a still lake at dawn, with mist on the water, a long line of firs on the far shore, a small boathouse and two low docks, and the trees reflected in the glassy surface

Lake Tapps, from the water side

Waterfront and lake-view homes around Lake Tapps, Bonney Lake, and Sumner, with Austin Hellickson, Managing Broker at LPT Realty.

Lake Tapps is a reservoir. It fills for summer and comes down when the season ends, and almost everything that makes a house here different traces back to that one fact.

A lake house is still a house. It has a roof, a furnace, windows, and a driveway that has to work in January. The difference is everything between the back door and the water: the dock, the bulkhead, the pitch of the lawn, where the drainfield sits, and what the shore looks like in the off-season, when the lake is down and the bottom is showing.

I help people buy and sell waterfront and lake-view homes around Lake Tapps, from the Bonney Lake shore to Tapps Island and the neighborhoods on the north end in unincorporated Pierce County. The work is ordinary real estate with lake homework added. Someone has to ask who permitted the dock, and whether Bonney Lake or the county handles that address. Someone has to photograph the water side so it looks the way it does from the end of the dock.

Buyers who only see a lake home in July see half of it. My office is down the hill in Sumner, on Fryar Avenue.

High view of a fir-lined lake shore on an overcast day, with large timber waterfront homes spaced along the water, each with its own dock

Two houses a few doors apart can sit on very different water.

  1. Seasons on the lake

    The reservoir follows a yearly cycle, and each season shows a different side of a lake house. Here is what each one is good for, if you are buying or selling.

    Spring through winter

    The line shows the general shape of a year on the lake, nothing more. Cascade Water Alliance, which owns and operates the reservoir, sets the actual schedule, and it can shift from one year to the next. In a dry year the lake can drop during the summer too, because Cascade can divert water from the White River only when the river runs high enough.

  2. Morning mist lifting off still water in front of a line of firs, their reflections in pink dawn light

    Spring

    The lake comes back up after the winter drawdown, and floating docks that sat on the bottom lift off again.

    Buying
    Some of the lakebed still shows while most of the water is back, which makes this a good season to compare shorelines side by side.
    Selling
    A listing that goes up now has the whole summer in front of it. Put the dock paperwork and the septic or sewer records in one folder before the first showing.
  3. Blue and green kayaks resting on a mowed lawn beside a wooden dock in summer light

    Summer

    In a typical year the water is held up for recreation through the warm months. Boats go in, and the swim beaches at Allan Yorke Park and North Lake Tapps Park fill up on hot afternoons.

    Buying
    See the house on a busy Saturday before you commit, especially on a narrow arm where wakes and voices carry.
    Selling
    This is the season to photograph the water side, from the end of the dock and from out on the lake, at the hour the light suits your shore.
  4. Stone fire pit burning on a lakeside patio at dusk, with evergreens and calm water beyond

    Autumn

    After the summer season the level is lowered, and for a few weeks the shore looks a little different each visit. Fire pits get more use than boats.

    Buying
    The honest season. Bulkheads and pilings are out in the open, and so is the bottom in front of each house. If you can, bring your inspector now.
    Selling
    Buyers will ask what your shore looks like with the water down. Answer it before they do, with photographs and whatever repair records you have.
  5. Open grey water and a low forested far shore under an overcast sky

    Winter

    The lake sits low and grey under the firs, and the swim beaches are empty. People who tour lake homes now tend to be serious about it.

    Buying
    Rain shows you how the lot drains and what the hill behind the house does in a wet week. Walk it in a downpour if you can.
    Selling
    Line up any dock or shoreline work early, since it can take permits and time, and be ready to list when the water comes back.

  6. For current lake level plans, ask Cascade Water Alliance directly. I do not quote levels or dates, because they are theirs to set.

Weathered wooden dock running straight out into a still lake at dawn, with low mist on the water and fir-covered hills in soft pink light

When the water comes down, the dock tells you the truth about a property.

Around the lake

The addresses around Lake Tapps answer to different city and county offices, and to more than one school district (Dieringer, Sumner-Bonney Lake, Auburn, and White River all serve parts of the area). It is the first thing I look up on any listing.

  • Lake Tapps

    The reservoir and the neighborhoods right on it, including Tapps Island and Tacoma Point. Much of the north side of the lake is unincorporated Pierce County.

  • Bonney Lake

    The city takes in much of the lake’s southern shore and runs along SR 410. Allan Yorke Park is its park on the water.

  • Sumner

    Down the hill in the valley, with its old downtown along Main Street and a Sounder commuter rail station. My office is here, on Fryar Avenue.

  • Auburn

    Just to the north. Lakeland Hills sits up on the plateau near the lake, and Auburn’s own Sounder station is down in the valley.

  • Pierce County

    Outside the city limits, the county handles permits and runs North Lake Tapps Park. Knowing which side of a boundary a house sits on is half the research.

Call or text me about a house on the lake, or one you keep driving past.

206.940.0942

Austin Hellickson, Managing BrokerAustin.Hellickson@homexa.comWrite instead