South End

Pictured above: Entrance to the Lakes neighborhood; Island Point neighborhood home; Pioneer Park trailhead; butterfly scuplture at Lakeridge elementary school; parking sign at the Mercer Island Saddle Club; and Sunnybeam preschool.

What to explore

The South End of Mercer Island has its own shopping center, which includes a QFC grocery store, Starbucks, a handful of food establishments, dermatology and physical therapy offices, dance and martial art studios, and more.

Pioneer Park is a favorite local park featuring over 113 acres of natural forest and 6.6 miles of trails. Hundreds of children enjoy letterbox hunting in Pioneer Park every year, and the park even features horseback riding trails for Mercer Island Saddle Club horses and riders.

South Mercer Playfields is the popular location of hundreds of youth athletic games every year and also includes a playground.

Wildwood Park, located in the Mercer Island Estates neighborhood, is Mercer Island’s south-end off-leash area for dogs, though this area is not enclosed like the off-leash area in Luther Burbank Park.

Community members throughout Mercer Island enjoy the Mercer Island Country Club, a great year-round club, and is ideal for avid tennis players. It is the only local club with indoor as well as outdoor tennis courts. The club also features an eight-lane, 25-yard swimming pool, small playground, barbecue areas, fitness room, and more.

The Neighborhoods

The Lakes is probably the most well-known neighborhood of the South End of Mercer Island, as the island’s most popular destination for trick-or treating.

Mercer Island Estates is the largest South End neighborhood located just south of the QFC shopping center and Mercer Island Country Club.

Tarywood Estates and Tarywood Park are located just south of Pioneer Park. Tarywood Estates is a neighborhood of mostly midcentury homes, while Tarywood Park was developed in the mid-1980s and features Buchan-style homes.

Parkwest and the nearby neighborhoods west of Pioneer Park are highly desirable, as many of these homes enjoy spectacular west-facing Seattle city skyline, lake, and mountain views.

Mercer Ridge is also a distinct and desirable neighborhood on the southwest side of the island, just west of Parkwest.

Behind the Lakes, Mercer Terrace and nearby neighborhoods feature large lots and enjoy a quiet, peaceful, almost rural setting.

Toward the southern tip of the island, you’ll find the Island Terrace and Island Point neighborhoods, where many of the homes have great southern and southeasterly views of Lake Washington and Mount Rainier.

Back to the Mercer Island Neighborhood Guide →