Enjoyed the morning fog lifting to beautiful sun. I started out going to Lighthouse Point. Signs said the trail from the boat launch was closed and to walk the beach. That worked fine until my return an hour later, with the tide coming in. I had to scramble over the rocks for about 50 yards above the water. Part of the beach was roped off to protect the Elephant Seal dozing on the sand. The walk to Rosario Head was also very pleasant.
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The trail from Bowman Bay to Lighthouse Point is closed at a damaged bridge. One possibility is to hike along the shore, but that is only possible at low tide. The other possibility is to hike from the parking lot at Pass Lake down to Lottie Bay and from there to Lighthouse Point.
I hiked down from Pass Lake to check out that trail. There are places along the trail that are in very good condition, but there are few places where brush is overgrown. I then hiked along the shore to Bowman Bay (it was at low tide).
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It was a gorgeous day today and this trail is absolutely stunning for the little effort required. Limitless viewpoints and choose-your-own-adventure paths to explore. I could have spent a lifetime on this trail. Well worth the trip and might be my new #1 trail to take out of towners too.
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Deception Pass never disappoints, and these trails were ones I hadn't been on before. Well worth it - I arrived 8ish to an almost empty parking lot, and did all three pieces (Rosario Head, Lighthouse Point, & Lottie Point) in a couple of hours and only seeing a handful of other people. Not the usual Deception pass experience. When I left there was still tons of parking available.
The trail to Lighthouse and Lottie Points has a emergency closure sign on it. That is because of the rickety bridge just a few dozen yards from the trail entrance. During low tide, you can just walk the beach to the spit between the two without any trouble and do both parts from there. During high tide, which it was when I arrived, that route is blocked by water against the rocks, but if you walk the beach almost down to where it's impassible, you can cut up and do the regular trail. To be honest, that trail is fine but the best route if it's available to you is the beach - I was able to walk back that way after the tide went out a bit.
Trails are in great shape and views are gorgeous, particularly from Lighthouse Point. If you only want to do one of the three, do this one. Lots of little trails up there through the forest and out onto the cliffs, multiple stunning views. Lottie Point is nice but the views are mostly interrupted by greenery. There's a steep trail down the the bottom that I didn't take, so maybe there were more unobstructed views from that.
The walk to Rosario Head is also great - my second favorite, and saw a gorgeous eagle. Easy trail, very scenic both in the forest and looking out on the little islands and headlands and the village in the bay.
This is a terrific option if you've always wanted to go to Deception Pass but don't like how busy it is on the other side of the strait. I'm assuming it gets more crowded later in the day and later in the summer, but not near as busy as the main park area.
Oh, and one other thing, the WTA description says this is 350 elevation gain - I'm not sure how they managed that. With all the little trails up and down I ended up with about 1050 feet. I suspect I can't entirely trust my watch on that, but I do know it wasn't 350!
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The pier is broken so inaccessible, so don’t get your hopes up there. The bridge just beyond the pier to the south is also down, making the Lottie and lighthouse only accessible by crossing the beach. Time it with the tides or you’ll be stuck.
Closer to 1000 feet of elevation gain if you take the beach and lookout side trails but they’re definitely worth it.