Best Tent Camping near Sekiu, WA

Wow!!! This was such a magical adventure! You will need a permit and a bear canister (which you can rent from the ranger station) but the payoff is a forever sunset, the scent of healing salt air, the sound of eagle’s fledging their young, giant sea stacks looming in the tide and the alpha wave inducing white noise of gentle waves churning, all while Bambi grazes near your tent. You might even see seals and whales so bring binoculars. I hiked the 9.4 mile Ozette Triangle over two days. I started from my campsite at the Ozette Campgrounds and hiked out Sand Point Trail. Then I explored giant sea stacks and saw petroglyphs along the Ozette River to Sand Point Beach Travel Way. Mt campsite had a rustic pit toilet nearby, a fire ring (burn dead driftwood only!) and a view of a distant sea stack framed perfectly by giant trees. After spending the most restful magical night right on the cusp of the rainforest, I explored northward some (do this during ebb tide so you don’t get trapped between peninsulas) before I headed back along the Cape Alava Trail. I did not want this hike to end. I can see why these are some of “The Best 100 Miles in National Parks” as ranked by Backpacker Magazine. I will go back and include this as part of a seven day of Cape Alava to Shi Shi Beach.

Pro Tips:

1. Take a picture of the current tide chart posted at the trailhead and know how to use it.
2. There are wonderful restrooms at the the trailhead parking lot but there is not a single trash can or dumpster to be found anywhere. I love this! It is a reminder to truly Leave No Trace and pack out everything in an effort to reduce the drain on limited park resources to deal with garbage. So take two trash bags, one for you and one for your neighbor.
3. Get a map and information sheet of the Petroglyphs before you go so you can enjoy this little treasure hunt!

This is a decent campground run by some hard-working private owners. It definitely has its pros and cons. The big pro is that while they don't take reservations, they pride themselves on never turning anyone away. That means you can always find a place to spend the night, although it may mean pitching your tent in the lawn area behind the office/store. Another big pro is that you're within walking distance (~ a quarter mile) of the Ozette Ranger Station and trailheads to the beach. We did the triangle hike to Cape Alava, then down the beach where petroglyphs are visible, to Sand Point and back up to the beginning. Just over 11 miles altogether. You need wilderness permits for camping down at the beach, which you can now get at Recreation.gov. No permits are required for hiking, but you do need proof that you paid the National Park entry fee (or have a pass) to park in the trailhead lot.

The biggest negative of the Lost Resort is the shortage of toilets. There is one flushable toilet available at all times and two porta-johns up the hill. There is another toilet inside, but it's only available when the store is open during daylight hours. This was a big problem on a very busy Labor Day weekend. The nice people who run the place said they are trying to get more toilets, but are limited by the availability of water, low water pressure, and park restrictions. There is also a single shower available to campers for $3, or $6 for non-customers.

Each established site has fire ring and a picnic table, although you can tell that makeshift sites used for crowded nights don't have those amenities. There are some open sites and some very enclosed woodsy sites. The sites aren't numbered. There's a marshy area in the middle that would not be good for tents.

The road in from Sekiu is paved all the way, but it's curvy with a 35 mph speed limit. Our navigation brought us over on 112 from Port Angeles, but I highly recommend taking 101 along the gorgeous Lake Crescent and then heading north on 113. Maybe a few miles longer, but much faster and more scenic.

We enjoyed paddling our kayak on Lake Ozette, but it got a little tricky with some afternoon winds. Motorboats are allowed on the lake, but they are mostly small fishing boats.

Despite the poor weather, I couldn't have been happier with my Whiskey Creek Beach camping experience. From the views, adequately spaced tent sites, steel fire pits, potable water, picnics table, Adirondack chairs and shower access, this was a perfect getaway for this solo, 50-something, female camper, accompanied only by her chow-chow . I was able to finally fulfill my dream of camping along the shore. 

One of the amazing features for those camping at the shorefront sites (T9, T10, T12) are the elevated, 12×14 decks that serve as your tent pad; No need to worry about a tarp placement beneath the tent. Metal cleets are placed around the deck stucture that you can use as tie downs for your tent and fly. These were useful for my additional tarp as I had to contend with mostly adverse weather conditions.The hosts have also provided, for your convenience, additional tie downs in case of high winds. Side Note: with the set up I created, I never once, had to contend with tent leakage, from the top or bottom. 

There is a small, single shower hut apx. 30 yards from the tent site. It is an off the grid shower, but extremely clean, and has running hot water. The cost was $5.00 for unlimited use. The outhouse for the sites, next to the shower hut, is rather old, and was, in my opinion, the only drawback. There is, however, a newer flush toilet up a small hill near the site which I found myself gravitating to. 

The hosts were extremely helpful and responsive. The area has a secure access gate. Firewood is available for sale at a cost of $4.99. The small town of Joyce is but a 10 minute drive where you will find an extremely well stocked old timey general store, two quaint resturaunts, and a laundromat, a huge bonus as I was on an extended stay of seven days.

For those inclined to explore the region, you are well within driving distance to some of Washington's exceptiinally breathtaking hikes, including Hurricane Ridge, The Ozette Triangle, and Cape Flattery.

This is a very wet campground(you are in the Hoh Rainforest afterall), so bring some extra tarps to stay dry. There are 3 loops, with a few riverside sites in Loops A and C. There were a lot of downed trees that were in various states of being cleared when I was there, which did close some sites to campers. Some sites had some privacy and others did not, but all were level. I was comfortable on my site, but preferred more privacy. None of the sites that I looked at had dedicated tent pads, but all had the usual picnic table and fire pit. It's a short walk to the visitors center and lots of hiking trails are nearby, including one that cuts through the campground. It was very quiet at night, and even though I was not on a site on the river, you could hear the river at night.