Cape Alava – Ozette Triangle

When I asked around about good early-season backpacking trails, several people recommended the Ozette Loop, and after hiking it I can understand why. It’s easy enough to do as a day hike, or you can spread it out over a night or two and enjoy beachfront camping. I chose the latter for my sister’s first backpacking trip, taking the Cape Alava trailhead to the Sand Point trail for a total of ~9.4 miles.

It’s a bit of a trek to get there – we took the Kingston ferry out of Edmonds and stopped in Port Gamble for some goodies at a favorite spot, Butcher and Baker Provisions. I highly recommend the Cookie Butter Morning Buns, if they have them, because WOW, and the almond croissant was equally delicious. They have a cute coffee bar and lunch options as well.

Two out of the three legs of the Ozette Triangle have boardwalks and are surrounded by a mossy forest. Our first night was spent at Cape Alava, where you emerge from the forest trail to a wild coast. As soon as we turned to find a campsite, we stumbled across two deer, just relaxing in the grass.

There was only one other group there, who we only passed occasionally. Our water source was a creek not far from camp. Although we filtered the water, it retained a brown tint due to the mineral deposits – thankfully we stopped at the ranger station before heading out and they warned us about this. Our campsite also had the fanciest pit toilet I’ve come across, with a mechanism to “flush”.

Campfires are permitted at Cape Alava, so we gathered some driftwood logs and stoked up a fire. This made the cool coastal evening comfortable – and that campfire smell is the best.

The next day we watched the tide and set out for Sand Point campground after high tide began receding. You can hike this trail during high tide but it’s much more difficult and requires you go up and over through with the assistance of ropes. I highly recommend you pack the tide charts for your stay and plan accordingly.

Hiking miles along a sandy beach was tiring, but enjoyable. There is driftwood all alone the shore, so you’re never without a place to sit. The only downside is the reminder about how harmful humans can be to our world – there was litter and debris from ships everywhere.

This is where our hike got exciting – a mother bear and her two cubs had ventured out of the forest and onto the beach, searching driftwood for hidden treasures. We waited them out, then cautiously made our way to our second campsite at Sand Point. We only passed one other group on the way and saw no other groups at the campground. The solitude was lovely, and only enhanced the wonder we felt when three deer joined us on the beach after dinner. With eagles flying overhead, we were living in a dream.

After enjoying an early sunrise over coffee & breakfast, we set out to make our long (but enjoyable) journey home. The only complaint I have is that we left early and it was a cooler night, which resulted in ice forming all over the boardwalk on the trail. We were slipping and sliding, which meant we had to take it very slowly. By the time we reached the trailhead, we were relieved to be on solid ground and slipping out of our boots.