The Ozette Triangle trail in Olympic National Park lies along the Olympic coast. It was highly recommended to me by several locals as a must hike for our first time on the Olympic Peninsula and let me tell you, they were right.
This trek can be done in a day, as the total trail is only 9.4 miles of easy hiking, but it can also be made into a backpacking trip, which many recommend. Spending a couple days gives you a chance to enjoy the amazing wildlife and explore the tidepools along the coastal section of the trail.
Getting there
Getting to the parking area for the Ozette triangle trail kind of feels like you are heading to the ends of the earth. From Forks it is about a 40-minute drive. The parking area is located next to the Ozette ranger station, which is a great place to stop if you have questions about the trail.
Lake Ozette is also right next to the parking area, along with the Ozette campground. If you intend to spend the night on trail, at one of the beautiful beach spots, you will also need to have purchased a wilderness permit in advance.
You will also need a park pass, such as an America the beautiful pass, to park here.
Camping
Many people will make this a 2–3-day trip, just to fully enjoy camping near the beach and to really spend time exploring the tide pools and wildlife watching. As I mentioned above, you do need wilderness camping permits for overnight camping along the Ozette trail, but in the off season, this is easy to get.
There are also 15 primitive campsites at the Ozette campground that are first come first serve, namely during the off season. When I was there in April, there were plenty of spaces available.
Most of the campsites along the trail are located along the coastal section, the rest of the hike is mostly on boardwalk above bog and wetland habitat, so camping is not possible.
There are also very few water sources, so make sure to bring plenty with you. Also, keep in mind that campfires are prohibited, so make sure to bring a jetboil (or similar) with you for cooking and boiling water.
Hiking logistics and what to expect
The cool thing about this trail is it really is like a triangle and each section is approximately the same length, giving you an idea of how long each section might take. At the trail junction on the other side of a small bridge over the Ozette river, it is recommended to bear right first and take the approximately 3 mile hike to the coastline.
Most of this part of the trail is an elevated path that can get slippery when it has rained recently and there are a few boards that are old and broken. Both the sections that are through coastal forest are mostly boardwalk trails, so easy hiking.
It is really important to check a tide chart before heading out, ideally well in advance of your hike, because this will change your access to the beach and all the cool tide pools you can check out during low tide.
We left at 5:30am in order to get to the beach at low tide. If you don’t you will end up hiking part of the trail off the beach, and the real draw of this hike is its beach access with its stunningly rugged coastline.
Also make sure to check out the wedding rocks, another big highlight of the trail. It is extremely easy to miss them (we did because I wasn’t paying attention to where we were on the map but instead was more focused on making sure we finished that section before the tide came back in). Wedding rocks are ancient petroglyphs thought to be 300-500 years old.
The return trail is similar in length to the other two sections and similar in habitat to the initial section and loops you back up to your car.
The best time to visit is of course low tide in any season, with summer being the most popular time to avoid the rain. It is a good trail for beginner hikers, because it’s fairly flat with almost no elevation gain on well-maintained boardwalks. It’s also one of the prettiest coastal trails and most recommended in the Olympic National Park.
Recommended itineraries
There are so many ways to experience this trail, below are the most popular ways people experience this trail.
A single day hike
As I mentioned, this hike can easily be done in a day (this is what my husband and I did). It’s flat trail, with the toughest section being the coastal part just because you are hiking through soft sand, tide pools, and slippery wet rocks covered in seaweed. So, plan to spend most of your time on the coastal section and give yourself enough time to be able to go slowly and explore a little.
2- and 3-day itinerary
Many people recommend making this a multiday hike so you can enjoy camping on the beach and have more time to slowly explore the coastline. What most will do is hike the first part to the beach, set up camp and spend the night there, then hike to the other end of the coastal portion of the trail and spend a night there, before hiking the final section back to the Ozette ranger station. It’s a great way to really enjoy this trail without feeling rushed and a great opportunity to see incredible marine wildlife.
Pro tip: there are additional campsites just off the beach as you walk along the coast, so if the ones earlier in your hike are full, make sure to check these ones out. They are a bit more private and have amazing views (I would have picked here had we made this a multiday trip).
Wildlife
There is so much to see here and lots of opportunities to view wildlife, both terrestrial and marine. During our day hike we saw a black tailed deer, eagles, and harbor seals but you can also see black bears, sea otters, sea lions and whales.
Not to mention all the life you can see in the tide pools and the shore birds like oyster catchers and plovers.
This was, naturally, my favorite part. Bring a good camera and take your time. There were tons of bald eagles and seals to watch and if you have time to walk around the beach and get closer to the ocean, you might be lucky enough to spot a whale.
Concluding Thoughts
The rugged coastline with its sea stacks and incredible wildlife makes this one of the best trails in all of the Olympic National Park.
What if the tide timetable isn’t good when you plan your visit? Then I would recommend heading inland to explore the Hoh River trail. This, along with the Hall of Mosses was one of my favorite trails to date.
