For generations people have flocked to cool water during the dog days of summer. In south King County, numerous resorts sprouted up around lakes and rivers providing park-like facilities for those seeking relief from the heat. The modern phenomenon of destination resorts was primarily the result of two societal changes: the 8-hour day / 40-hour week, generally adopted by the early 1900s; and inexpensive automobiles, many sold by Henry Ford providing ordinary Americans the ability to drive longer distances in comfort. Hitching up the horse or mule to a wagon or buggy just couldn’t compare to the speed and mobility by which cars and trucks travel.
Resort entrepreneurs responded and locally there were three separate resorts on both Lake Sawyer and Wilderness, not to mention others at Lake Retreat, Flaming Geyser, Lake 12, Pipe Lake, Lake Lucerne, Green River Gorge, Kanaskat, Shadow Lake, and Deep Lake to just name a few. With so many competing resorts, each needed to attract visiting day-trippers. High dives were one popular item and most private parks on lakes had them. This photo of the high dive at Deep Lake was taken in the 1920s and was featured on post cards patrons could buy.
Deep Lake is modest in size, 39 acres, and reaches a depth of 76 feet, hence its name. Fed by a mountain stream, Deep Lake Creek plus groundwater, the lake’s water is generally cooler than nearby water bodies, except for rivers with snow melt. Deep Lake is closely associated with the Nolte family whose patriarch, Fred Nolte, purchased all the property around the lake in the 1880s. Fred died in 1909 at the age of 56, bequeathing the land to his daughter, Minnie Nolte. A lake resort was established by the family around 1913 and operated privately until 1971. When Minnie Nolte died, she gifted the land to Washington State Parks for public recreation.
Today, Nolte State Park encompasses 117 acres and lies about six miles northeast of downtown Enumclaw and one mile south of Cumberland. A 1.4-mile walking and hiking trail through old growth timber circles the lake. There are picnic tables and shelters with a beach and dock on the south shore for swimming and fishing. The park is open 8 am to dusk year-around. This photo comes courtesy of Reid Peterson of the Enumclaw Plateau Historical Society and JoAnne Matsumura, an Issaquah historian and collector. Photo enhancement was provided by Andy Newell whose Mancraft Graphics is located next door to the 76-gas station store in Black Diamond.
