Hillside residential neighborhood · Cougar Mountain
Cougar Mountain / Lakemont
Bellevue's southernmost upland neighborhood of newer view homes on the flank of Cougar Mountain, beside a 3,100-acre regional wildland park.
The Cougar Mountain / Lakemont neighborhood area covers roughly four square miles on the slopes of Cougar Mountain in Bellevue's far south, much of it developed over recent decades as newer single-family subdivisions. Its main draw is elevation, which affords residents views of Lake Sammamish and the Cascades to the east and downtown Bellevue, Lake Washington, and Seattle to the west.
To protect those views and the wooded setting, many developments established community-owned greenbelts and strict property covenants. A robust trail system links homes to local parks, the Lakemont Village shopping center, and the adjacent regional wildland.
The neighborhood borders Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, a King County park established in June 1983 that protects 3,115 acres with about 38 miles of hiking trails and 12 miles of equestrian trails, preserving forests, streams, wetlands, and former coal-mining sites at Bellevue's edge.