Our Journey to Cape Flattery

Cape Flattery

Lyre River Campground

 Singing Waters

First night's campsite

Dates camped: February 17-19, 2017
Campgrounds: Lyre River Campground & Hobuck Beach Resort
Trails hiked: Cape Flattery Trail & part of Shi Shi Beach Trail
Notes: Both are dog friendly, open year round, and have toilets

How did we end up going to Cape Flattery this weekend do you wonder? Well, Sarina and I kept following the weather all week, and majority of the places we wanted to go, there were either 90% chance of rain or it was going to snow, so we kept having to change plans. We tend to start finalizing plans Thursday  because the predicted forecast usually doesn't stray too far for Saturday/Sunday. So the only place we saw that had some sun last weekend was Cape Flattery and the Olympic Coast. Another thing that was hindering our plans were that we were planning on bringing two dogs. So The Olympic Coast was out of the question. No dogs allowed in National Parks.... whomp whomp. But Cape Flattery is part of the Makah Indian Reservation, in which dogs are allowed! And that is how we ended up going to Cape Flattery for the weekend....

Friday February 17, 2017:
We left Seattle around 8:30 pm and planned to spend the night near Port Angeles. Seattle to Cape Flattery is about 215 miles one way, so we were trying to split the drive up a bit on the way out there. I had looked into free camping spots near Port Angeles, and besides google pointing me towards the Walmart parking lot, Lyre River Campground popped up.

Info on Lyre River Campground: Free during off season (peak season i.e. summer is $10/night), 11 campsites, walk up only, Discover Pass is needed. It's operated by DNR (Department of Natural Resources) and sits right next to the river. This spot had decent pit toilets with toilet paper and is open year round.

So with the little information we found online about Lyre River Campground, we found it with no problem, quickly found a site, set up tents, and went to bed. We saw 2-3 other cars camping while there. We could hear the roaring river but couldn't see it in the dark, so the next morning when we woke up, we woke up to an amazing view and lots of green! It definitely did not feel like winter here.

Night #2 at Hobuck Beach Resort

Saturday February 18, 2017:
We packed up our tents and hit the road in search of some breakfast. We were technically in Joyce, WA and I had come across Blackberry Cafe on Yelp the day before. Which was the closest breakfast spot to us, even though we had to back track 4 miles. So glad we stopped by here! We had some delicious Crab Cake Bennies, blackberry pancake, and country fried steak before hitting the road for Cape Flattery again.

We got into the Makah Reservation around noon, and stopped by Cape Resort first. I had read that this spot had tent sites, cabins, and bunkhouses. But after a quick peak at the place, we decided to check out Hobuck Beach Resort before we made a decision on where to camp. Hobuck Beach Resort was definitely more up our alley! They had a huge grass field right next to the beach while Cape Resort was situated in town and the camp spots were right behind trailers. So we paid the fee at Hobuck and set up camp near a forested area with a walkway to the beach.

Info on Hobuck Beach Resort: tent camping here is $20/night, plus a $10 permit fee you pay for being on the reservation, but that permit is good for the year. This place also had cabins you can rent. They had port-a-potties scattered around the area for tent campers, and also nicer flush toilets and free showers on the property as well.

After setting up our tents, we took off for a short hike to Cape Flattery (1.5 miles R/T). The views at the most NW part of the contiguous US are amazing and so rugged! The sun even came out while we were at some of the viewpoints! Such a cool spot.

After Cape Flattery, we went in search of firewood, which was harder to find than we thought. We ended up buying some fresh cut logs from locals for $10. One downside was that they were kinda damp so we had a hard time keeping the fire going later that night.

Then we headed over to the Shi Shi Beach Trailhead. We were loosing daylight and wanted to see the coast, we got a little over a mile into the trail and decided to turn around due to time. We will definitely be back to backpack Shi Shi though!

We headed back to the car, stopped at a beach real quick before heading back to our campsite for the night. We roasted some hot dogs and called it a night.

 Another viewpoint at Cape Flattery 

 The water was so blue!

 Thanks for the capture Sarina!

 Rugged

 Need to go back!

 Loki couldn't get enough of the view

 No rain either when we hiked out!

Crooked and windy wood trails.... look at that tree!

 Neah Bay, WA

Ya know, I used to live a few blocks from the beach, I sure do miss it

Sunday February 19, 2017: 
Following morning, we packed up camp and hit the road for home. We took a detour to Lake Crescent and Port Angeles. It ended up taking us 7 hours to drive back to Seattle that Sunday. Overall, it was a great weekend of exploring the Peninsula, and we will for sure be back.

Until next time Cape Flattery!

 Lake Crescent Lodge, closed for the season

 Grey and stormy skies

Lounging