Ozette Triangle Trail, WA

The Ozette Triangle Trail is a gorgeous 9 mile loop and part of the Olympic National Park north of Forks, WA. The trail splits at the parking lot and is 3 miles to Cape Alava and 3 miles to Sand Point, camping is allowed at both locations. There is 3 miles of beach connecting Cape Alava and Sand Point creating the 9 mile triangle.

The 3 mile beach portion of the trail is a very unique section of Pacific Ocean beach with historic and sacred ties to the Makah Tribe. About 1.5 miles the down the beach are petroglyphs carved into Wedding Rock by the Ozette People between 300 and 500 years ago. The site of the Ozette Village is about 14 miles south of Neah Bay on the Pacific Ocean side of the Olympia Peninsula.

This trail was teaming with wildlife. There was everything from deer to coyotes to birds. Best of all the native Banana Slug!

The only campfires allowed are driftwood fires at the Cape Alava campground. All overnight camping requires a permit of $5 plus $2 for each person and $15 a vehicle. Overnight hikers are required to keep all food and garbage in bear cans, which are available at the Port Angeles and Quinalt Ranger Stations.

We camped at Cape Alava after hiking 3 miles in the first day. This gave us plenty of time to hike the 3 mile beach portion at a low tide on the second day and the last 3 miles from Sandy Point back to the parking lot. The rain and moisture on the first night made it impossible to start a campfire, despite all of Cody and Matt's efforts. However the following day was sunny and beautiful. The Cape Alava Campground was a lush green meadow where one might expect a gnome to appear running across it. This hike is in my top 10 favorite hikes.