Maltby

Maltby is a community located along highway 522 between Monroe and Woodinville. Not officially an incorporated town, it’s closer in culture to Monroe, which is more rural, rather than Woodinville, which is more urban.

Almost half the population here is made up of families with kids in school, because it’s a great place to buy a house on a piece of land and settle down. Kids first head to one of two local elementary schools: Maltby Elementary or Cathcart. Then they’re off to Hidden River Middle School, before they make the longer bus ride to Monroe High School, about 10 miles away.

Because of the distance, many high school students drive their own cars to Monroe each day, so paired with rush hour, traffic becomes notoriously slow on 522. And on weekends, it’s also busy with Seattle skiers and snowboarders heading to Steven’s Pass. To ease the traffic, in the past several years, there’ve been some big road improvements, including 2 new overpasses, but it’s still pretty slow.

If you’re looking for a house with some land, this is a good spot to check out, as most houses come with at least an acre or two. A decent amount families also have lifestyle farms where they’ll have some chickens, a horse with a small stable, maybe a cow or two. A few even have their own horseback riding arenas. There are also a several riding academies if you want to learn. It’s definitely a big part of the culture out here.

Besides homes, small farms, and lots of wooded, green, land, there’s not too much else in Maltby. The other focal points are:

--Maltby Café: This place has been around since my childhood, and probably even longer. It’s a classic American breakfast and lunch dive, packed on the weekends, where the food is served in ridiculously large sizes. It’s nothing too spectacular, but it’s nice to have comfort food and bottomless coffee with some friends on a Saturday morning after a long week.
--Maltby pizza and pasta: though not as much of a local icon as the Maltby Café, the food’s decent and will do in a pinch if you don’t want to drive to Monroe or Woodinville.
--Flowerworld: this is a HUGE nursery, and people come from all over to buy their plants here. They also have chickens with farm fresh eggs, produce brought in from other local farms for sale, and Christmas trees in the winter.
--Echo Falls Golf Course: Simply known locally as Echo Falls, this is the most popular place in Maltby and Monroe to have weddings. Oh, and golf, of course. It’s also the lucky host to all of Monroe High School’s prom pre-parties and photo shoots, so if you’re planning a day on the green during spring weekends, call ahead to make sure you won’t be swamped by giddy high school students teetering around in high heels or posing for photos in their rented suit.

There is a mix of income levels that live in this area. You’ll find everything from small manufactured homes to million dollar mansions (especially near the golf course), and everything in between. The newer construction seems to be mostly large 4 and 5 bedroom houses over the $500k range. But people tend to hold on to their land and houses here for a long time, so there’s not a huge amount of turnover. If you’re in a hurry, you may have to look to nearby towns.