The road to the trail was easily accessible. The trail was in pretty good condition. There were a few trees to duck under and one had some water run off but, nothing to worry about. The waterfalls were running strong but, the trails down to them were muddy and slippery. Overall in great condition and well worth the trip.

I've read descriptions of this hike that call it an easy walk with little elevation gain. I feared it might be a snoozer, but I was wrong. It's a gorgeous hike and today had plenty of challenge.

We encountered five blowdowns that required some scrambling, but by far what most added to the challenge was all the water on the trail. There was a lot of runoff coming from the mountains so the waterfalls were spectacular.

It also meant that there was a lot of water on the trail, particularly in the second half. The trail was intersected by streams no less than 39 times (yes--we decided to count on the return trip). This is not counting standing water in the trail. About a dozen of these stream crossing were what I would classify as "tricky" meaning getting across required some combination of determination, agility, balance and/or courage. We made it across all of them without any mishaps, but I wouldn't have wanted to make this trek with kids or with my small dog.

The trail is rough in spots but well worth the effort. The scenery along the river is beautiful with several waterfalls--one in particular drops about 100 feet and is breathtaking. The trees are massive and the sound of the river is always present.

We completed the round trip in about 5.5 hours including a quick stop for lunch at the end of the trail as well as some time spent searching for a geocache at the end of the trail (which we found!). This is slower than our typical pace due to the extra time and care we had to take with the blowdowns and the "tricky" stream crossings. On a drier day, I'm sure some of these streams are non-existent and most of them much easier to cross.

During the winter, I wouldn't do this hike without waterproof boots--I gave mine a refresher coat of waterproofing this morning before I headed out and I was so glad. If the temps are at or below freezing, I'd skip it. The saving grace on these stream crossings was that nothing was slippery.

It's also worth noting that while the total elevation gain is minimal, the trail undulates so there's quite a bit of up & down so it's not exactly an easy walk in the woods. If you're looking for an easy walk, you could turn around at the 3rd waterfall.

A very nice winter walk. The access road, French Creek Road, is in good shape with only small patches of snow that are easy to drive with a 2WD normal car with good tires. The trail had recently been reported as icy, but the icy spots are minor now and most of the trail is fine for normal light weight hiking boots. The few icy spots we found were easy to pass. There is snow on the trail, but most of the trail is snow free to the end. The snow that is present is never more than a couple of inches of light frosty snow. The lack of summer foliage makes for many new views if you are only familiar with this trail as a summer walk. There are blowdowns across the trail, but long legged people will barely notice them. A few of the creek crossings will have potentially icy rocks, so I recommend wearing good boots that you will not mind stepping in a few inches of water rather than risking a fall trying to rock hop icy rocks.

A beautiful crisp winter day on a great trail!

The boulder river hike was fantastic. French Creek Road doesn't stand out so be aware. But once found the three mile dirt road drive to the trailhead was easy and in great shape.

We hiked to the first camp ground had time for lunch then returned to the lot. Stopping along the way to sit by the river, enjoy the snowfall and take photos. It did snow while out there which added to the beauty of this wonderful trail.

BE AWARE:
The trail at places is covered in ice. Not necessarily a problem but a slip here could also include a 20-30 foot drop towards the river. Don't do this! Be careful on this trail.