Northwest tip of Washington coast a perfect winter getaway

NEAH BAY — Few pleasures match the bracing delight of slurping hot coffee while walking an empty ocean beach in winter.

It’s just after dawn, the sky is gray, the waves are crashing and the wind is blowing — OK, not too hard, so you can still hold your coffee mug. It might even be rainy, but for many people who grew up in the Northwest, this is pretty close to heaven.

If you want to watch the storms from the cozy indoors, however, you have another few months to take advantage of winter rates for lodging on Washington’s Pacific coast.

This time, though, forgo the urge to do the hotels and kitschy shops at Long Beach and Ocean Shores.

Venture out instead to Cape Flattery at the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula.

The Makah Tribe, which doesn’t own a casino and doesn’t allow the sale of alcohol there, has smartly focused attention on its reservation’s natural attributes to attract tourists.

Not long ago, the tribe expanded its Hobuck Beach Resort.

When my kids were little and we lived near Neah Bay, Hobuck was our favorite.

On the south end of this beautiful beach there are 16 relatively new cabins, and many look directly out to the beach. Take a few steps and you’re in the sand.

It can’t be beat.

If you’re a surfer, kayaker or paddle-boarder, this beach is the place to be. During our stay at the resort this past week, the wet-suited surfers worked the waves from morning to late afternoon, even in the rain.

Hobuck Beach area was pretty wild when I was a child, inhabited mostly by a herd of grazing cattle.

Camping by outsiders wasn’t really allowed back then, but I think the tribal elders figured that if my folks knew how to get to Hobuck, our family would be respectful.

It’s about a four-hour drive from the Kingston ferry dock to Neah Bay.

From Port Angeles, stay on Highway 101 or take Highway 112 along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The advantage of 101 is the trip along Lake Crescent, but 112 offers vistas and beaches. Either way, make sure everyone in the car looks up and out the window. These are winding roads.

While on the reservation, look for shorebirds and raptors — hundreds of species of birds, including wintering swans and bald eagles.

Your first stop in the commercial and recreational fishing village of Neah Bay should be the museum at the Makah Cultural and Research Center.

Buy a $10 Recreation Use Permit there. The tribe’s rec pass is good for a calendar year and allows you to park just about anywhere you’ll want to go. And the museum shop is a good place to buy Makah arts and crafts

A visit to this impressive museum tells the story of the “People Who Live by the Rocks and Seagulls.” Makah, meaning “generous with food,” is the name given to the cape people by the S’Klallam tribes, who live on the east side of the peninsula.

The museum’s collections focus primarily on the world-renowned Ozette archeological dig from the 1970s, when tidal erosion uncovered the remains of a Makah whaling village more than 300 years old. Scientists believe an earthquake occurred and the resulting mudslide covered the village, preserving thousands of artifacts that include tools of many kinds, toys, baskets, bent-wood boxes, woven mats, carvings and much more.

If Kirk Wachendorf is at the front desk, ask him about Ozette. He was there.

The museum includes replicas of full-scale cedar longhouses, whaling and fishing canoes, information about the dig and the reaction of tribal elders, whose oral histories were confirmed by the Ozette discovery.

Meredith Parker, president of the cultural and resource center’s board, was a student at The Evergreen State College during the Ozette dig.

“The first time I went out there, it literally changed my life,” Parker said. “I had heard the stories of Ozette from my grandmother. I was there each summer and even lived there for a while. With each artifact we uncovered, I wondered if one of my ancestors had been the last person to hold it. It was a powerful experience.”

You can imagine what it was like to live at Ozette by walking the Olympic National Park trail 4 miles out from Lake Ozette to the Cape Alava beach, just south of the Ozette reservation. If you are lucky, you might see ancient petroglyphs, mostly pictures of whales and fish, among the rocks.

The rain forest has a misty charm in the winter. The trail also takes you through soggy meadows and is often covered by a cedar boardwalk. Do not attempt this in stiff rain boots or barn boots. I don’t even think hiking boots are a good idea unless the soles are flexible. Wear walking or running shoes and you’ll be less likely to slip on the wet wood.

Another note about clothing: A rain-proof jacket is a must.

Two other hikes visitors should consider are the Cape Flattery Trail and out to Shi Shi Beach.

The easiest is Cape Flattery, north of Hobuck Beach. It’s about a 3/4-mile hike, including wet boardwalks, from the parking area to the view of Tatoosh Island.

At the lookout deck at the end of the trail, there are fantastic views of the jade-colored water hitting the sandstone monoliths, sea stacks and caves under the cape. The old lighthouse on Tatoosh has been automated for decades, but the foghorn sounds frequently during the rainy months.

South of Hobuck Beach, follow the signs to the national fish hatchery, which you can visit. The Shi Shi Beach trailhead is nearby. Walk 2 miles on the muddy old logging road to Shi Shi, and then another 2 miles on this spectacular beach to the Point of Arches.

It hasn’t changed much since I was a child, when it seemed that nobody else but the Makahs knew about Shi Shi, especially in the winter.

If you go

Makah Indian Tribe and Neah Bay Chamber of Commerce

Go to makah.com or www.neahbaywa.com for information about visiting Neah Bay.

Makah Museum

1880 Bayview Ave.

360-645-2711

Olympic National Park

Ozette, Cape Alava

www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-ozette

Lodging

Hobuck Beach Resort on the ocean