Cape Alava trail is at Lake Ozette, The trail head forks after a 1/4 mile or so and you can go to Sand Point, to the south, or Cape Alava to the North. We chose Alava because no campfires are permitted at Sand Pt. Many people do a day hike, out to Sand Point, up the beach to Cape Alava and back inland again. Its about 9 miles. Our hike was posted as 3.1 miles, but that is just to the end of the trail. Once we got to the beach, we hiked a mile North to a good spot. For future reference, if you keep going North, around Cape Alava, you get to a nice, secluded stretch of beach which would be great if there was any wind. We had no wind on this trip.
The hike is mostly boardwalks. Trail reports state that boards get slippery when wet. It was dry going in, a little wet out, but I did not encounter any slippery boards. I suspect those reports may be from day hikers wearing tennis shoes!
About half way in, the forest opens up to marsh lands. There were lots of little flowers blooming amongst the marsh grasses. It was very nice.
The hike is mostly flat. No real elevation change, just a few ups and downs through creek beds and such.
I cannot wait to do this trip again!
