Cherokee Bay Community Club

Have lived in community since 1999 and have had very few things over the years that could be complained about.The maintenance staff is hard working and responsive. I also find the family’s that live here are for the most part friendly, outgoing,and honest.How ever the home owners association hiarchy in resent years has turned over the management of the association to a company located in Bellview Wa. There lie’s the problem. When contacted by any means you are given the run around.You are transferred to a designated person that has that account.You always get leave a message recording.You do and never get a response. The same holds true for E mail. No response.I always had the impression was that the home owners association was there to serve the community.If so we need local on site access to a responsive representative. more

I moved my family here over a year ago from Seattle. I searched months for a home in Maple Valley that was affordable and safe. Many of the neighborhoods in the area have cookie cutter homes on little tiny lots, with big price tags. The homes here are older and not all the yards are picture perfect, but you know which is yours AND you have a back yard! My home is within walking distance of a lake and playground, my kids love it. There are no side walks, but the roads have many speed bumps so I feel safe letting them walk with me down the road. Most of all, I love my neighbors! There are a ton of young families, everyone here is very friendly and there is a strong since of community. I held a garage sale last fall and one of my neighbors came by to introduce themselves, their comment to me was "you really lucked out moving into this neighborhood, it's a great place to live" that really resonated with me! The one issue I have is both entrances are a pain to get in and out of and that random closed road sign off 272nd is a pain and a eye-sore. I think however, that is a city issue not the neighborhood. All in all, I love living here. more

My family and I have lived in Cherokee Bay since 2005. It is one of the few areas left in Maple Valley that is affordable yet safe and relaxing. The residents tend to be a more 'down to Earth' crowd which I find comforting at a time when many cities, neighborhoods, and communities are going out of their way to portray a false sense of elegance or exclusivity. Yes, there are some disrespectful pet owners, a few poorly maintained homes, and the occasional ATV or dirt bike riding down the road, but at least this is a place where people can live with some relative freedom. The HOA can be annoying, but is generally not too overbearing. Ridiculously large speed-bumps litter the neighborhood at a rate of 2-3 per block which makes driving anything smaller than a full size truck a chore, but on the plus side pedestrians feel safe walking around as traffic moves slowly by them. I've found the lake access to be a good counterweight to the frustration of the speed-bumps. Egress is an issue at either entry during most times of the day. A dedicated turn lane or traffic light would help, and is presumably in the works based on the last conversation I had with a city official. I'm currently buying a second house in Maple Valley, and after weighing the pros and cons, we've decided to remain in Cherokee Bay. As far as neighborhood endorsements go, you can't get much better than that. more

I bought my house about 15 years ago. I had to reduce from 5 to 4 for the main reason that we have no sidewalks. I knew that going in, but something I still miss. The nieighborhood is full of people who have lived here 10, 20 30 years and more. The park at our lake is like a secret that friends who live elsewhere in Maple Valley often are surprised at. Lots of community involvement, much more as the years have gone on. We have our own water and it is great. They HOA does a lot of work keeping trees trimmed, park clean, roads cleared of leave, or ice, and stay on top of repairs. The houses are older but that is ok. The tall cedars are protected and gives a wonderful feeling to neighborhood. I think about moving for a newer house, but then I think of what I give up that I love so much about living here. Just so happy we moved here and dont plan to leave anytime soon. more

The only reason I gave Cherokee Bay 4 stars is due to lack of sidewalks. This is one thing that over 14 years I still wish we had. Older community but you will find many have lived here for 10, 15, 20 30 years. We have tall beautiful trees and a gorgeous park with a private beach and dock on lovely Pipe lake. The park is the jewel of the community and makes it worth living here. Kid friendly, we have a club house to rent as well as a summer kitchen. When I first moved here Cherokee Bay had a reputation as not being great. I have found especially recently a major sense of community and family friendly place to live. From our own Easter Egg hunt, large screen outdoor movies in the park, hydro races and a holiday bazar where locals sell home made items. A blockwatch formed to work together to keep safe has started. We had our first childrens Halloween party this year and Santa drove thru just our community with a police escort just last night. All brought on by community involvement of our own neighbors. You cant find stuff like this in any other community. A great place to raise kids with great schools and a great location in Maple Valley. more

Cherokee Bay is a great place to live (and, no, I'm not on the board of directors). It's an older neighborhood, but a quiet, friendly neighborhood. We've lived here for 16 years and wouldn't move. Love our neighbors, love the trees, love the community. more

The poster named Myk is indeed biased! He is one of the HOA board members that makes this place such a hell hole. Welcome to red-neck-ville! Pople park on their lawn, everyone has 3-5 dogs howling away, there's ATV's rolling down the street and folks are downright rude. My neighbor just the other day told me they hated me (I'd never even met them!)I wish I had never bought here and will be glad once my foreclosure in CB is complete. more

Let me start out by saying I may be a bit biased since I live in Cherokee Bay and am on its Board of Directors. Cherokee Bay Community Club is the name for our neighborhood's Office and Recreational Facility. It's one of Maple Valley's only 100% private neighborhoods. I'm not talking gated - we're not hoidy toidy. I mean that we own everything. The streets, the water system, etc. We're basically a small city. And that's what makes it such a fun place to live. We have 853 houses and most people know a lot of other people all over the large parcel we call home. It's the definition of community. Kids ride bike safely on our streets, people regularly walk around to say hi and for exercise. We share our expertise - our landscaper and soon to be electrician both live here (and we're getting tabs on an ex-plumber as well!) We've got a lovely park. It has trees, grass, horseshoes, grills, a playground, a cabana, and lake access to Pipe Lake which is stocked with several types of fish. It's a great retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city. You can come here to relax and hang out with your neighbors like you were spending time in a state park. The big difference is that when you're done eating and it's time to go home - you're already there. I sigh on my morning commute to Seattle every day as I stream onto the freeway listening to my podcasts; however, I breath easy on my trip home knowing that I'll soon be pulling into a drive covered with a canopy of four 50+ foot evergreens (with more in the backyard). It's a slower pace of life, but one that is so much more enjoyable. The only thing that could make it better is if I could work from home... more