Hike of the Week: Ozette Triangle

Native American Petroglyphs are one of the delights along the Ozette Triangle

Ozette Triangle

A shore great hike!




by Craig Romano
photo by Craig Romano
produced by Michael Fagin

May 12, 2006

Quick Facts
Location: Olympic Coast
Land Agency: Olympic National Park
Roundtrip: 9.3 miles
Elevation gain: 300 feet
Access: From Port Angeles head west on SR 112 for 50 miles to Sekiu. Turn left onto the Hoko-Ozette Road and proceed for 20 miles to the Ozette Ranger Station and trailhead.
Green Trails Map: Ozette No. 130S
Notes: Dogs prohibited. Entrance fee required ($15 day/$50 annual)


Sea stacks, sea otters, sea lions, and ocean scenery for as far as you can see, the 9.3 mile Ozette Triangle is one of the finest hikes on the Olympic Coast. An easily accessible loop hike, it’s the perfect introduction to America’s wildest coastline south of Alaska. From Lake Ozette, one of the largest bodies of water in Washington, the loop begins its 3-mile journey to the sea. Cross the lazy and brackish Ozette River. Next, via a cedar-planked boardwalk, traverse lush maritime forests drenched in sea mist. Towering ferns line the elevated path. Pass through Ahlstrom’s Prairie, an early homestead site, since reclaimed by the dense greenery that thrives in this water-logged climate.
Raucous gulls and the sound of the crashing surf announce that the ocean is near. Now for the real fun! Turn south and follow the shoreline for 3.0 adventurous miles. Look up in the towering trees for perched eagles. Look out towards the off-shore islands for seals, whales, and pelagic birds. Look in the tidal pools for submerged starfish tenaciously clinging to barnacle-encrusted walls. Look for my soul-bird the oystercatcher cruising down the aisles of this open fish market.
Look too for Makah petroglyphs etched into the Wedding Rocks, a cluster of shore hugging boulders about half way down the coast. If the tide is low continue along the surf-if it’s high use the steep trails that bound over guarding headlands. But, before turning back inland, you’ll approach Sand Point; extending two glorious miles, its one of the finest sandy beaches in all of Washington.
When you must relinquish this heavenly environment back to its rightful owners-the seals, oystercatchers, otters, and sanderlings-return to Lake Ozette via another 3.0 mile long boardwalk trail. It’s all through expansive cedar bogs and under a dense canopy of majestic Sitka spruce.
This is one triangle that’ll chime in your memories for quite some time.