Ozette Triangle (Cape Alava and Sand Point)

Olympic National Park coast, Lake Ozette (end of Hoko-Ozette Road, off SR 112)

The Ozette Triangle is a short loop on Olympic National Park’s wilderness coast. Two boardwalk trails run from Lake Ozette to the ocean, one to Cape Alava and one to Sand Point, and a stretch of beach connects them.

The Park Service lists the loop at 9.2 miles and calls it easy, but the beach section depends on the tides.

The hike

The trail leaves the Ozette Ranger Station and crosses the Ozette River on an arched bridge, according to Washington Trails Association. About a quarter mile in, the trail splits; WTA describes going right toward Cape Alava. The NPS brochure lists that trail at 3.1 miles of trail, boardwalk, and stairs across prairie and coastal forest. WTA warns the cedar planks can be slippery when wet or icy.

At about 2.25 miles, WTA says, the trail crosses Ahlstrom’s Prairie, a soggy former farm meadow returning to native plants. At 3.3 miles in WTA’s count, it reaches the beach near Cape Alava. Just offshore is Tskawahyah (Cannonball) Island, which NPS says is part of the Ozette Indian Reservation and always closed to the public.

The NPS brochure explains why Cape Alava matters: in a 1970 storm, the bank eroded and exposed a village site that Washington State University archaeologists had begun studying in the 1960s. Crews uncovered three of five 300-year-old longhouses and over 50,000 artifacts. The site has since been filled and revegetated, and many artifacts are displayed at the Makah Museum in Neah Bay.

The 3.1-mile beach walk south to Sand Point passes Wedding Rocks. Section Hiker’s 2025 trip account says the rock carvings there are about 300 to 500 years old and often show whales and faces; its group spent more than an hour searching and found about a dozen. A Mountaineers group in June 2025 stopped there on its second day to look for the petroglyphs, and on its first night spotted two bears near Wedding Rock through binoculars.

NPS warns that some headlands can’t be rounded even at the lowest tides. Section Hiker says to look for circular red-and-black markers, which point to trails leading up off the beach. From Sand Point, the 2.8-mile Sand Point trail, mostly boardwalk, returns to the lake.

North along the coast, past Cape Alava, the park’s beaches continue toward Shi Shi Beach and Point of the Arches.

Tips

Reserve early. NPS limits camping from Yellow Banks to Point of the Arches year-round and recommends booking early for May through September.
Bring your own bear canister. NPS says canisters aren’t available at the Ozette Ranger Station.
Carry a tide table. The beach between the two capes depends on it.
Plan water. NPS says some sources near Sand Point and Wedding Rocks dry up later in summer.
Watch your food. The Mountaineers report called the chipmunks “bold.”

Camping

NPS names Sand Point and Cape Alava as the main camps, with pit toilets at both. A wilderness permit is required year-round, and permits are limited. Groups are limited to 12; larger associated groups must camp at least a mile apart. Bear canisters are required for all food, garbage, and scented items along the entire coast. Fires are banned from the headland north of Yellow Banks to the headland at Wedding Rocks, including Sand Point; at Cape Alava, burn only driftwood, which NPS says is scarce in summer. Camp above the high tide line. NPS says coastal water is tea-stained from tannins and must be filtered or boiled; iodine doesn’t kill cryptosporidium.

Inside Intel: Section Hiker’s trip leader camped just past an unnamed stream on the beach south of Sand Point (the permit was for South Sand Point, which starts at Wish Creek), and the next night just north of Wedding Rocks, about two miles from Cape Alava.

Trail facts

Distance: 9.2-mile loop (NPS)
Route type: Loop
Difficulty: Easy; tide-dependent
Campsites: Cape Alava (about 3.1 to 3.3 miles), Sand Point (2.8 miles from the lake), and beach sites between
Water: Creeks at Cape Alava and Sand Point; some dry up late summer; filter or boil
Permits: Olympic wilderness permit, limited year-round
Food storage: Bear canister required
Fires: Prohibited at Sand Point and from Wedding Rocks south to Yellow Banks
Dogs: Not allowed
Trailhead: Ozette Ranger Station, end of Hoko-Ozette Road (21 miles from SR 112)
Last verified: October 17, 2026

The Lowdown

No fires at Sand Point:

The park bans campfires from Wedding Rocks south through Sand Point, so dinner on the Ozette Triangle comes off a stove. See the backpacking meals testers like.

See the picks →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.