Let me start this post with a warning I found on AllTrails after it was too late.

WARNING: DO NOT HIKE THE NORTHERN SECTION OF THE LIGHTHOUSE POINT TRAIL. IT IS DANGEROUS AND NOT MAINTAINED BY THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.

Normally when we plan to hike we look into trip reports ahead of time. Since we were camping at Deception Pass and had a copy of the map we didn't do that kind of research for such a quick, well populated day hike. We hiked the Lottie Bay loop which was beautiful. There's one large tree down that we did have to pick up and pass our small dog over as well as a minor boulder scramble we had to then pass her up. Otherwise the trail is well maintained with some stunning views. 

We then followed up by walking across the beach to do the Lighthouse Point loop. Overall the trail is pretty easy to follow. We knew we wanted to stick to the left and just do the perimeter all the way around so we were planning on skipping, what the map shows as, the middle section. When we started in on the Northern side things seemed fine, if nothing just a bit more narrow than the other trail but soon, rocky and rooted and eventually a sheer drop to water. Needless to say we turned around and went back eventually coming across what we referred to as the oops trail, a very narrow mostly overgrown trail that cuts from the North to what we thought was the middle trail. 

A gorgeous summer day for a hike! We headed out from the trailhead early in hopes of having the trail to ourselves. No such luck, as this loop is extremely popular, but it was relatively quiet and most people wore masks. We did end up getting a little lost, as did other parties that we came across. The trail could use some additional signage at turns. Back on the beach after our hike, we had the absolute pleasure of seeing a family of otters playing! What a treat!! 

I love Deception Pass - and even though we came on a Friday with plans to camp at Fort Ebey along the way back down south, there were no crowds or masses of people I was expecting. I was surprised - usually it's busy here, and with the pandemic, I've heard it was insane. But just some families playing in the sand, or having a socially distanced picnic, or eating a seafood shrimp boil they brought along from home that made my mouth water.

This trail is pretty easy to follow, but the signage is only okay. There are signs pointing to different places, but sometimes it seems they're missing a direction or two! Overall it really doesn't matter - as long as you wander around aimlessly along these paths, you'll find some beautiful lookouts and gorgeous scenery. Honestly you don't need a trail guide once you park at a beach (we did Rosario, but both Rosario and Bowman had parking spots at noon on a Friday), just start walking on the trail along the water. I didn't see any wildlife, but I'm pretty bad at looking along the water line. Lots of cool seaweed in the water from the viewpoints above.

Not many people masked. Some willing to pull off, some going around, but a lot of day goers from Seattle just goofing around and I think assuming they were fine without one. If you just stay by the beaches and maybe do a quick jaunt, you'll be fine to avoid people. But longer, thinner trails were more difficult to stay perfectly COVID-19 safe.

Not too busy for being a Friday afternoon. The Bowman Bay beach area was popular but we had most of the trails to ourselves. The views are beautiful and I enjoyed seeing the many beaches and rock structures along the trail. Overall the trails are easy and easy to follow. WITH ONE EXCEPTION: I've attached the WTA trail map to this trip report and shadowed one of the adjoining trails in red. We followed the adjoining trail thinking it would easily loop around back to Bowman Bay. We were wrong. The trail is hard to follow at times and at one point (marked with an X) leads sharply downhill just to end at the water so we had to scramble back up. Ya know, like using your hands on the uphill ground and grabbing tree roots to balance. The good news is you can't truly get lost on this trail since lighthouse point is surrounded by water, but it was an annoyance to us and likely an accident waiting to happen for young children or anyone less nimble.

We hiked this trail on a Monday afternoon, after spending the foggy early afternoon at Rosario beach. When we arrived to the beach around noon, there were several parking spaces left. 

The Lighthouse Trail was leisurely and beautiful. We saw otters, a young seal, crabs and fish. Around 4:00, we stopped at Lottie Bay to play, and had the sandy beach to ourselves. Bowman Beach neighbors Lottie, but was crowded due to boat rentals and restrooms (open with soap) and near a parking lot. Lottie waters were a little cold but definitely swimable, and even as the tide was coming in waters were shallow enough for young kids to play, measuring knee deep in adults more than 20 feet out.  

90% of people were wearing masks throughout the day. The bugs didn't seem bad but we did walk away with some bites. Parts of the trail are wooded, but I'd definitely recommend lots of sunscreen because there are wonderful sunny vistas and beach options along the way.