Mountlake Terrace is a suburban city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It lies upon the southern attach of the county, adjacent to Shoreline and Lynnwood, and is 13 miles (21 km) north of Seattle. The city had a population of 19,909 people counted in the 2010 census.

Mountlake Terrace was founded in 1949 by real estate developers upon the site of a disused airfield, intending to present low-cost housing for veterans. Within five years, the community had grown to exceeding 5,000 people and was incorporated as a city in 1954 to manage to pay for municipal services. An industrial park was developed at the northwest corner of the city, which was united by Interstate 5 after it opened in 1965. Mountlake Terrace originally had several little shopping centers that declined due to the local economy and a pair of arsons in 1990.

The city direction began developing a downtown revitalization plan later than mixed-use buildings in the 2000s, with hopes of growing on summit of a bedroom community for Seattle commuters. The Mountlake Terrace Transit Center, a major bus hub, opened in 2009 and is planned to have Link roomy rail encourage in 2024. The city has several parks, including entry to Lake Ballinger, and hosts an annual summer festival that is portion of Seafair.

The southwestern region of Snohomish County was originally inhabited by the Snohomish people, who primarily approved along the Puget Sound and used inland areas for seasonal hunting and foraging. In 1862, Puget Mill Company acquired 17,000 acres (6,900 ha) in the newly-formed county, including the thickly-forested plateau where modern-day Mountlake Terrace sits and the next-door Lake McAleer. The land was logged by 1900 and was forward-looking subdivided into 10-acre (4.0 ha) chicken ranches, which were sold to farmers. Judge Richard A. Ballinger purchased Lake McAleer in 1901 and renamed it to Lake Ballinger for his father, later desertion the Place to become Seattle mayor. The Nile Shrine of Seattle purchased 135 acres (55 ha) on the east side of the lake in 1927, building a clubhouse and difficult a private golf course.

An interurban railway amid Everett and Seattle opened in 1910, improving admission from the farms to various markets. Many of these small farms failed during the Great Depression and were affected by the closure of the interurban in 1939, following the attainment of Highway 99. The Place remained house to chicken and mink farms competently into the 1950s, while areas to the south underwent suburban development.