The plan for Point No Point this December sounds simple. The Greater Hansville Community Center's October Log says that while the U.S. Coast Guard does its lead-paint cleanup around the lighthouse, the county park will be closed to cars. Visitors can park at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife lot instead or walk in from the Thors Road trailhead. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife lists its Point No Point access site as open year-round, "Closed to vehicles December 1 - March 31."
Those two notices point drivers toward the same few acres of shoreline for the same weeks, and they disagree about whether a car can get there. Point No Point has a county park, a federal light station and a state access site sitting side by side. This winter each one runs on its own calendar, and the route that works under all three is the walking trail.
The Roof Finished Ahead of Its Own Schedule
Kitsap County Parks' September 16 advisory board packet expected roof work on the Point No Point Lighthouse to happen in September. The Friends of Point No Point Lighthouse later listed the fog signal room roof replacement for mid-October through the end of October 2026. The same page posted a photo captioned "Roof repairs underway October 5, 2026." By the October 21 Parks Advisory Board packet, the county's entry read simply, "Point No Point Lighthouse: Construction is complete."
The roof mattered. The lighthouse group describes the old roof as aging and actively leaking on the 1879 structure, which it calls the oldest lighthouse on Puget Sound. Within about five weeks, three published sources gave three different timeframes for one roof.
Who Controls What at the Point
The December situation makes more sense once the pieces are laid out by owner.
| Project or rule | Who runs it | Timing as published | What it means for access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fog signal room roof replacement | Kitsap County Parks | Listed as complete in the Oct. 21, 2026 board packet | Fencing and lot staging should be finished |
| Lead-paint cleanup at the lighthouse, duplex and store buildings | U.S. Coast Guard | Expected to start in early December and last about three weeks | Park closed to vehicles, open to pedestrians |
| Duplex septic system replacement | Kitsap County Parks | Design approved; no construction date set | Possible future impacts on parking nearby |
| Point No Point water access site | Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife | Closed to vehicles Dec. 1 through March 31 | No driving into this lot during those months |
The Log's article on the projects is clear that the cleanup belongs to the Coast Guard: "This is a Coast Guard project, not a Kitsap County project." The county still described the septic work as heading to bid and had not set a construction timeline. The October 21 packet adds that the Kitsap Public Health District has approved the design and that Parks is coordinating construction through its capital plan. That project could add its own parking impacts later, on a schedule no one has announced yet.
The Parking Advice and the Posted Closure
This is the full passage from the October 2026 GHCC Log:
"The work is anticipated to begin in early December and last approximately three weeks. During that time, the park is expected to be closed to vehicle traffic, but pedestrian access will remain open. Parking will be available at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife parking lot and access will also be available from the Thors Road trailhead."
The WDFW site page for Point No Point lists one parking lot, four ADA stalls and one restroom. It also lists the December 1 vehicle closure, with no year attached, which reads as a standing seasonal rule. The cleanup's "early December" start puts most or all of the Coast Guard work inside that closure.
The Log article ends by saying that project schedules and impacts may change and that Kitsap County Parks will share more updates as details are finalized. Until then, the county's Point No Point Park page and the WDFW site page are the two places to check before driving out.
Thors Road Is the Route That Holds Up
On foot, the timing questions mostly go away. Under the plan as published, pedestrians stay welcome through the whole cleanup. The Thors Road trailhead is the one entry point named for that period.
The Hansville Greenway's own writers know this route well. In a February 2023 Log column, Cynthia Taggart described a favorite workout trail off Thors Road down "the 90 stairs leading down to the beach at Point No Point." She added that "heading back is a test of your muscles and respiratory system." In the same piece she mentions the Chatham Trail at the other end of Thors Road for steep hills and plenty of mud. For rainy days she suggests the Ponderosa entrance and the Trillium Loop, where tall trees provide some cover. That column is from 2023, so trail conditions on any given December morning may differ.
Greenway volunteers keep improving the trail network that walkers will be using. In September 2026, six volunteers carried four fiberglass boardwalk panels, each weighing 100 pounds, about a quarter-mile and laid them over a muddy stretch between markers 15 and 14. The project cost $1,200. A second boardwalk near the Hawk's Hole Creek turn has been proposed, and brush and blackberry clearing was planned in the Highlands. All of this happens on volunteer time, which matters more in a month when the parking lots are uncertain.
December Is When the Point Gets Busiest With Birds
The closure lands at a lively time of year for birders. Kitsap Audubon's November 2026 Kingfisher newsletter lists recent eBird sightings around the point:
- A Rock Wren at Point No Point on Sept. 26
- A Chipping Sparrow at Point No Point on Oct. 1
- Two Brown Pelicans at Point No Point on Oct. 3
- A Northern Pygmy-Owl near Hansville on Oct. 9
- In Hansville on Oct. 10: a Leach's Storm-Petrel, 30 American White Pelicans, a Sabine's Gull, a Yellow-billed Loon and a Red-shouldered Hawk
- A Western Meadowlark at Foulweather Bluff on Oct. 12
The same issue lists Kitsap Audubon's two Christmas Bird Count circles. The Kitsap circle counts on Saturday, December 19, and the North Kitsap/Port Gamble circle counts on Saturday, January 2. The newsletter also includes a photo of the Point No Point 2025 CBC team led by George Gerdts. If the Coast Guard starts in early December and works about three weeks, December 19 could fall inside the vehicle closure. Count volunteers headed to the point may want to plan for parking off-site and walking in. Kitsap Audubon's vice president, Chuq Von Rospach, is the listed contact for joining a team.
This year Kitsap Audubon is also adding "sit and watch" events for newer birders, and one is planned at Point No Point. The newsletter says details on dates and times will come in future issues. The newsletter's Bird of the Month, the Horned Grebe, is common on the Salish Sea from late summer to late spring. It is a winter bird worth looking for from the beach. A short drive west, the 2026 Greater Hansville welcome packet describes the marsh at Foulweather Bluff Preserve as a waterfowl and birdwatching spot. It sits near the end of Twin Spits Road, reached by a quarter-mile forest trail.
The Calendar Between Now and the Closure
The lighthouse itself has closed for the year. The Friends of Point No Point Lighthouse site says the 2026 tour season has ended and will return in spring 2027. In the meantime, most of the point's community activity happens a couple of miles away at the Greater Hansville Community Center, 6778 Buck Lake Road, in Buck Lake Park. Its new floor and kitchen were finished this fall.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, noon. Friends of Point No Point Lighthouse community meeting at GHCC. The September Log says everyone is welcome. It is a good chance to ask about the December work in person.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The annual Arts and Crafts Holiday Market at GHCC, with a room full of vendors, a bake sale, a toy drive and raffles. It raises money for Hansville Helping Hands and Cemetery, which started in the 1930s as Hansville Ladies Aid.
- Dec. 1. WDFW's posted seasonal vehicle closure at its Point No Point access site begins.
- Early December, about three weeks. The Coast Guard lead-paint cleanup is expected, with the county park closed to vehicles and open to pedestrians.
- Saturday, Dec. 19. The Kitsap Christmas Bird Count.
- Saturday, Jan. 2. The North Kitsap/Port Gamble Christmas Bird Count.
After a cold walk back up the 90 stairs, the 2026 welcome packet lists winter store hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for Hansville Grocery & Provisions at 7532 NE Twin Spits Road, and the same 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. restaurant hours for Hansgrill.
At Scott Ahern, we pay close attention to how small North Kitsap details like these shape a day on the water. If you have questions about Hansville's shoreline and the trails around it, we're glad to talk. Book an Appointment and let's start with the beach you know best.
