Rosario Head Trail: Lighthouse and Lottie Point (Deception Pass)

This winter has been relatively dry and sunny, which has allowed Matt and me to try this new-to-us thing called "hiking year round." The last two weeks have been cold (like, 30°s kind of cold) but so incredibly sunny and cloudless that staying inside almost feels illegal.

Our latest winter hike took us to Deception Pass. Matt has paddled there before, but I've never been. We chose this particular hike because my thighs were comically sore from squats the previous day, and I agreed to a hike only if the elevation was extremely moderate.

The Rosario Head Trail is a short trail in Deception Pass State Park, and we followed it to Lighthouse Point and Lottie Point, which made the whole trip just around 4.5 miles (or 4.9 if you're going by Matt's watch). The majority of the trail was flat and dry, although parts of it cut across the rocky beaches of the park and there were a few muddy spots along the way.

As usual, we got started late in the afternoon, so we were on a time crunch, wanting to complete the hike before sunset. We bundled up but ended up warm by the end. Despite being January, the hike was vibrant green; Matt commented that it was like summer with the a/c on. 

We had a gorgeous view of the pass nearly the entire hike. There were a few fallen logs to climb over and some rocky portions that were challenging to climb up/down with my limited mobility, but I think on a day when I wasn't experiencing DOMS, this would have been a very easy hike.

Zoe had so much to sniff on the beaches, and we got to enjoy an absolutely astounding sunset just as we got back to the car. 

This was a perfect hike for this time of year. Avoiding snow is always my biggest concern about winter hikes, so it's key to find trails in lower elevation. I'm glad we took advantage of the perfect weather and didn't let the chill in the air keep us home.

Ali