Curlew Lake, Washington — Lake Is the Town Plan

Curlew Lake is a community wrapped around a long glacial basin north of Republic.

Water and wetlands occupied the landscape long before cabins and roads reached the shoreline.

Ranching, timber and nearby mining districts shaped early settlement, while fishing and recreation gradually became more important.

Curlew Lake State Park provides public access, and homes and seasonal properties spread around other parts of the water.

Unlike nearby Curlew, this locality has no conventional center to find; addresses follow shoreline roads, coves and stretches of rural property.

At Curlew Lake, the lake is not beside the community.

It organizes it.