A Beautiful day for a hike. Due to recent snow melt this trail is a bit sketchy in several places. Narrow catwalks of snow makes snowshoes a good Idea. There are also several places that the snow has melted snow under the trail so there are small holes along the trail on the way up. The trail to the falls is doable but use caution. I took the trail up and the road back to avoid some of the pitfalls I past on the way up.

  Happy trails!!

  ~C

First time hiking the area as we recently moved here form out of state. We were looking for an easier quick hike to check out today. Decided on Franklin Falls. Had to park along the road about 1 mile out from the trailhead due to the road being snowed in. We had regular hiking boots and gaiters and were fine for the most part. Some people has snowshoes but overall it was quite doable with just boots and this coming from two inexperienced snow hikers.

The hike from the car to the trailhead was flat and easy as you'd expect. Once on the trail it was a nice brisk hike along the river which provided great views. The trail meanders back into the forest and away from the river at sections. There were times where we wished we had traction devices to help provide some bite on some of the slight up hill sections. Our trekking poles were indispensable in these areas. The creek crossings had about 4 feet of snow packed on them and were just over a foot or so wide and the snow was wet slushy and a bit slippery. These crossings were slightly intimidating as sliding off would mean a 5 foot tumble into the rocky creek below. Crossing it felt like a bit of a snowy high-wire act that required caution and trekking poles for balance. Having said that, we saw a guy heading back down the trail that ran right over it on his snowshoes. I guess I need to make a new investment...

We saw a few smaller falls and afterward decided to turn back not knowing how much further to the main falls and not wanting to be caught on the slippery bits in the dark.

Overall, it was a great time in the snow. We're likely going back next week earlier in the day to make sure we can finish them and checkout some others in the area.

This was our third attempt to snowshoe Denny Creek this winter. This time we were smarter and parked where the plowing stopped (previously 2 trips we dug out other vehicles that got high-centered on the snow past the campground). Just a skiff of new snow, so the trails were pretty packed down.

Started out on the Denny Creek trail but, much to our disappointment, we had to turn back at the first creek crossing because the bridge was impassable. Snow buildup on the bridge was well above the hand rails, mounded and undercut.

We turned back and took the trail to Franklin Falls instead. Very well trod and, since it was now after 11 a.m., it was pretty busy. Creek and falls were beautiful though with snow caps and impressive icicles. Considered taking the Wagon Wheel Trail back, but it was not tracked at all and our dog immediately post-holed so we stuck to the falls trail coming back also.

We were able to drive to FR 5830 but got stuck on our way out. Would suggest parking before the first bridge on Denny Creek Road. The snow was heavy, icy and packed down, but the views made it worth it. Several folks were ice climbing and the sun on the Falls was spectacular!