Buck Lake is a small

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in unincorporated

Kitsap County Kitsap County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, Washington, Port Orchard; its ...

, Washington. The lake, near the unincorporated

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

of Hansville, occupies an area of 18.6 acres at a maximum depth of 24 feet. The lake takes its name from a ''

buck Buck may refer to: Common meanings * A colloquialism for a United States, Canadian, or Australian dollar * An adult male animal in some species - see List of animal names - e.g.: ** Goat buck ** Deer buck ** Sheep buck * Derby shoes, nicknamed "bu ...

'', though the exact species it references is unclear. Bird species such as the

Osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

and

Great Blue Heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbea ...

have been present at the lake. In 2009, the Kitsap County Planning and Environmental Programs division found an improving trend for

E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escherichia'' that is commonly foun ...

bacteria levels. The Buck Lake County Park is located at the southeast corner of the lake, which has picnic areas, restrooms, beach access, volleyball and basketball courts, and a ball field. A new playground was completed in 2019, the Kitsap County Parks Department's first

ADA Ada may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle'', a novel by Vladimir Nabokov Film and television * Ada, a character in 1991 movie '' Armour of God II: Operation Condor'' * '' Ada... A Way of Life'', a 2008 Bollywo ...

-compliant playground. To the west and south of the lake is the Hansville Greenway, a 264-acre nature preserve with walking and equestrian trails in a wetland environment. The Greater Hansville Community Center is also located at the lake. Buck Lake is a swimming destination. All swimming lake beaches in the county, including Buck Lake, have free loaner life jackets for children. Like other county beaches, water quality is monitored by the Kitsap Public Health District every other week. The lake was staffed by lifeguards until 2006. Unlike other popular county lakes such as Island Lake and Horseshoe Lake, there are much fewer residences on Buck Lake and the watershed is described as "rural residential" and "rural wooded." Buck Lake is also known for

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

fishing, with well over 1,400 fish being released annually by the

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is a department of the government of the state of Washington, United States of America. The WDFW manages over a million acres of land, the bulk of which is generally open to the public, an ...

. Since 2018, the majority of fish released into Buck Lake have been raised at Eells State Trout Hatchery near Skokomish, WA. There is a gravel boat launch on the east shore of the lake.

References

Kitsap Bodies of water of Kitsap County, Washington {{US-lake-stub