In May 1891, the southward advance of the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway (S&O) rail head from Sicamous along the western side of the lake passed through Enderby.

Remains of an indigenous camp were found near King-Baker Creek[16] in 1958, where two atlatl weights were discovered buried at the entrance to a small cave.

[17] From the early 1820s, the people brought furs to trade at the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fort at Kamloops.

Defining the Mara community as stretching from the southern tip of the lake to about 1.3 kilometres (0.8 mi) south of the Riverside Rd junction, homesteaders did not arrive until the mid-1880s.

[29] Prior to the S&O construction in 1891, the Red Star II replaced the stage in carrying freight and mail upstream during the summer months.

[30] The more significant early settlers were John (1885) and Marie (1889) Moser,[31] Thomas Gray (1887), Rev Joseph Edward Rosoman (1893), Dave Shannon (1895), and Fred Dean (1901).

[35][42] Weeks later, the station and bridge were saved in the May fire, but the sawmill, numerous residences, and other structures were lost.

[49] In 1968, the west side store relocated to the present highway location, being called the Mara Foodliner.

The site later became the Two Mile Trailer Court,[52] which was renamed the Sicamous Creek Mobile Home Park.

In the late 1930s, the Swansons bought the 16 hectares (40 acres) adjacent to the east of their resort to provide highway access.

The family opened a general store, gas station, and tea room on Swanson Rd, which was formerly the highway.

[64] In 1997 and 2012 heavy rains caused large debris flows at Hummingbird Creek, which significantly impacted lives, houses, septic systems, and highway infrastructure.

Since the early aughts, a new resort has been constructed along Hummingbird Creek, comprising recreational cabins and townhouses.

[65] The creek is likely named after Sidney and Violet King-Baker, who purchased land in 1929 and built two vacation cabins, one for personal use and the other for visitors.

Violet bequeathed the property to Ethna Revel, who suffered a stroke in 1990 at the cabin, dying three weeks later.

[67] By the early 1960s, the lakeshore property included a large motel unit, eight cottages, a campground, and store.

[72] In 2022, Pinnacle Lifestyles acquired the resort and renamed it the Mara Lake RV & Beach Club.

[80] Opened in 2002,[81] the 18-hole championship Hyde Mountain on Mara Lake Golf Course was designed by Les Furber.

[83] In June 2022, PintoWest reversed its decision to be included in a planned boundary expansion by the District of Sicamous.

In 1887, a narrow and swampy in places wagon road was built to supersede the trail southward along the western side of Mara Lake, which connected Sicamous and Enderby.

[90][91] Schubert Bros. established a stage service on the route,[92] but the railway construction severely damaged the road.

[93] Prior to World War I, a trail existed southward to Two Mile, which was followed by a gap to the present Mara Provincial Park.

The shore road along the southern part of the lake was blasted through rocky cliffs, with rock removal and grading by hand.

[105] In 1932, a northbound passenger train fatally struck a man on the track 3 kilometres (2 mi) north of Mara.

[111] To connect the roadbuilding endeavours with the railway line on the opposite side of the lake, a ferry operated during World War I.

[112] In August 1895, a cable ferry was installed,[113] enabling east shore settlers to access the train station across the river.