Ozette Triangle: Cape Alava and Sand Point

The walk starts at the parking area by the Ozette Ranger Station, at the end of the Hoko-Ozette Road, 21 miles from Highway 112. The Cape Alava Trail runs for 3.3 miles through forest and across Ahlstrom's Prairie, much of it on cedar boardwalk, to the beach at Cape Alava. Turn south and walk the beach for about three miles, past the Wedding Rocks, to Sand Point. From there the Sand Point Trail leads 2.8 miles back to the start, again mostly on boardwalk.

It is a 9.5-mile (15.3 km) loop with 440 feet (134 m) of climbing; allow about 4 hours. The grade is Moderate: long but nearly level, with rough going on the beach.

Carry a tide table and plan the beach around it. The park warns that some headlands cannot be rounded even at the lowest tides and must be crossed by the trails over them, and that walkers can be stranded by a rising tide. The boardwalks can be slick in the wet. Pets are not allowed.

A day walk needs no permit; camping at Cape Alava or Sand Point does, and must be booked. Tskawahyah (Cannonball) Island, off the cape, belongs to the Ozette Reservation and is closed to the public. State Route 112 on the way in is often closed or diverted. Entry to the park costs $30 per vehicle for seven days.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.