A Lively Community: Olympic National Park

Olympic
Olympic National Park
Lake Ozette Area

Cape Alava
Ozette Indian
Reservation
Sandpoint
PACIFIC OCEAN
To Shi Shi
Ozette River
Norwegian
Memorial
Ozette Ranger Station

Park Boundary
(see details on back)
Ericsons Bay
OZETTE LAKE
Tivoli Island
North
Sw
an
A Lively Community
as many as 130 homestead

families called Lake Ozette
home in the early 1890s.
Schools, a post office, stores and
a church sustained the farming
community. Life was hard on this
remote tip of the country.
When the area was included in the
Olympic Forest Reserve in 1897,
most early settlers left. A second wave
of settlers arrived after the turn of the
century. Vestiges of their homesites
remain. On the Cape Alava Trail,
hikers cross the prairie where Lars
Ahlstrom pastured his livestock.
In 1940 a strip of coast and the
Ozette area were included in Olympic
National Park. Even as forest gradually reclaims once cleared land, stories
of early human residents linger.
Ba
To
4.83 kms
3 miles
112
Ozette Information
Facilities:
Ozette Ranger Station usually open daily from June

through Labor Day with intermittent off season hours.
Picnic area, public telephone. Year round entrance fee.
Camping:
Open year round, but may be primitive with no water and

pit toilet only in winter. 15 sites, accessible restroom nearby.
No RV hookups.
Backcountry: Reservations are required for backpacking along the Ozette

Coast from May through September. Our Wilderness
Information Center in Port Angeles has more information
about permits and reservations at www.nps.gov/olym.
Animal-resistant food containers are required for storing
food. Raccoons can get into other types of containers! Fires
are not permitted between Wedding Rocks and Yellow
Banks, including Sandpoint.
Supplies:
A small store just outside the park boundary has additional

camping, basic supplies and rents food storage buckets.
Regulations: Pets are not permitted on park trails or backcountry areas,

including boat-in lake camping. They must be on a leash at
all times while in the park. Feeding wildlife is prohibited,
for the health of the animals and for your safety.
Trails at Ozette
Coastal Trails
Information
Kiosk
Ozette River
Parking
Public Dock
Trails begin behind the Ozette Ranger Station. Check a tide

table to best time your beach hiking.
Cape Alava:
3.1 miles of trail, boardwalk and stairs through

prairie and coastal forest to rocky beach.
Sandpoint:
2.8 miles one way on mostly boardwalk

through coastal forest to a wide sandy beach.
C
oa
Hoko-Oze
tte Rd.
ek
Ozette
re
Lake
lC
Park Boundary
Ozette Ranger Station
The Lost Resort &

General Store
152 meters
500 feet
Ozette Loop: Connect Cape Alava and Sandpoint trails by a

3.1 mile hike on sand and rock beach for a 9
mile loop. Elevation change less than 40 feet.
Safety Alert! The boardwalks are very slippery when wet or
frosty. Soft soled shoes like tennis shoes or lightweight walkers
grip the boardwalk better than stiff hiking boots with hard lug
soles. Take your time and walk carefully.
A Culture Unearthed
A storm and serendipity unveiled one of the richest archeological sites in
North America. In the mid 1960s archeologists from Washington State University began excavating 12-foot thick deposits on the sheltered side of Cape
Alava. Bone, shell and stone artifacts told of a sea mammal hunting culture
dating back at least 2000 years. In 1970 a storm surge battered the upper
beach and began to erode the bank. Hidden in the clay banks was the story
of Ozette life, told by thousands of perfectly preserved artifacts.
Eagles and elders soar in

clouds looking through crimson skies.
Teams of archeologists and students excavated 300-year old longhouses

which had been buried by massive mudslides. Three of five longhouses were
fully unearthed and over 50,000 artifacts recovered, many not represented
in museum collections. They revealed the details of everyday life in a stable,
highly organized hunting and gathering society.
Offering themselves to
Makah brothers who come
no longer.
The village. A house. A

home. Remembered in minds
and mud. And furseals.
David Stuart, 1981
The discovery of many whale and seal hunting artifacts illuminated the
villagers' dependence on the sea. The village lay close to migratory routes
of whales, fur seals, and other sea mammals. Offshore reefs and
islands offered protection from the pounding
surf, and provided easy
passage for canoes.
The site has been filled
and revegetated, but
a tribal plaque is displayed on a small replica
longhouse. You can see
many of the artifacts and
learn about the culture
at the Makah Museum in
Neah Bay.
5/13

A Lively Community: Olympic National Park

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Olympic

Olympic National Park

Lake Ozette Area

Ozette Ranger Station

(see details on back)

as many as 130 homestead

Ozette Ranger Station usually open daily from June

Open year round, but may be primitive with no water and

Backcountry: Reservations are required for backpacking along the Ozette

A small store just outside the park boundary has additional

Regulations: Pets are not permitted on park trails or backcountry areas,

Trails begin behind the Ozette Ranger Station. Check a tide

3.1 miles of trail, boardwalk and stairs through

2.8 miles one way on mostly boardwalk

Ozette Ranger Station

The Lost Resort &

Ozette Loop: Connect Cape Alava and Sandpoint trails by a

Eagles and elders soar in

Teams of archeologists and students excavated 300-year old longhouses

The village. A house. A

David Stuart, 1981

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