Cape Alava-Sand Point Loop
Last modified
Oct 26, 2009 03:17 PM
Sand Point at Dusk, By Daniel Ewert.
Two trails, one leading to Cape Alava and another leading to Sand Point, begin at the Ozette Loop trailhead. The loop makes an excellent day trip and an even better overnight at one of the many campsites at Cape Alava, Sand Point, or farther north along the beach at the mouth of the Ozette River. It begins on the Cape Alava trail and follows a series of boardwalks (warning: the boardwalks can be particularly slippery when wet!) through the shaded coastal forest for two miles before opening to a grassy bog called Ahlstrom's Prairie. This area was settled by Scandinavian homesteaders in the late 19th century. The meadow will blend into a short forested section, then into another smaller meadow. Travel into another forested section of hemlocks and cedars. A spruce forest picks up where the hemlocks and cedars left off. The trail will pass through forests of hemlocks, cedars and spruce and past campsites as it reaches the beach. Just slightly north, a Makah Indian Village site in the Ozette Indian Reservation offers a look at numerous artifacts. Tskawahyah Island, an ancient burial site, lies just off the north point of Cape Alava. After you have spent time exploring here, take the beach route of the loop south to Sand Point. Only one section may impede your travel at high tide, but there is an overland trail around this. Once at the point, take the boardwalk trail back to the trailhead, through large Sitka spruce and into western red cedars and hemlocks. Recent Trip Reports
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Cape Alava-Sand Point Loop #32 #31
— Apr 29, 2000
— Karen
Day hike
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We walked the Cape Alava / Sand Point Loop on a dry Saturday. I have not been out there...
We walked the Cape Alava / Sand Point Loop on a dry Saturday. I have not been out there in 20 years, so I was curious what I would remember (not too much other than the rocks and boardwalk). I did forget how the beach walk was not easy on the feet!
Cape Alava-Sand Point Loop #32 #31
— Aug 29, 1999
— anonymous
Day hike
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This is a excellant hike for young backpackers. It is 9 mile loop with min. elevation gain. It starts...
This is a excellant hike for young backpackers. It is 9 mile loop with min. elevation gain. It starts with 3 miles through the rain forest to the beach to the first option for camp sites. Than it continues on the beach for 3 miles to the second option for campsites. The finally stretch is 3 miles through the rainforest back to your starting point. The stretches through the rainforest are almost all on boardwalks (The boardwalks makes this a year round option for hiking). The two camp grounds reguire reservations because they are very popular (Cape Alava and Sand Point). Racoons are a problem, so it is required that you bring a 5 gal bucket with a tight fitting lid for your food. Bear wires are avaiable to hang the buckets. The deer have become use to human and will walk right into your campsite and hang out. There are to points on the beach that you have to pass at low or med tide. Tide chart are available at the ranger station. Pictograph can be found at wedding rocks on the beach.
Cape Alava-Sand Point Loop #31 #32
— Jan 01, 1999
— Steve F
Day hike
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After last week's avalanche survival on Mailbox Peak (I-90 exit 34, not even close to the Olympics), I yearned...
After last week's avalanche survival on Mailbox Peak (I-90 exit 34, not even close to the Olympics), I yearned for SEA LEVEL!! The hike has nearly 6 miles of boardwalk if you do the whole loop. I shuffled along, bored of the boards... but found if I imagined I was walking on the boarded streets of a western town 150 years ago, it helped. Hyup, walking along the saloons, banks, assay offices, gen'ral stores, blacksmith shops... the miles zoomed by. Except in the early morning, the icy boards were more slippery than a greased pig at a hoedown. The first thing I saw when getting to the ocean were 3 very friendly deer! |
Driving Directions
Take US Highway 101 twelve miles north of forks and turn north at the "Ozette Lake and Neah Bay" sign. Continue ten miles down this forested road and turn left onto State Route 112. Follow the route eleven miles to a "Ozette Lake" sign and turn left on Ozette Road. Follow this 22 miles to the trailhead at the north end of Ozette Lake. A ranger station is located at the trailhead.
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