Otter and Big Creek Falls - Taylor River

My hiking buddy and I were looking for a quick overnight not too far from Seattle. This seemed to be one of the few trails that was melted out, so we went for it. The road in was in terrible condition, just like my guidebook said. I wouldn't take a car with low clearance as some of the potholes were huge! This seemed to be a popular hike, cars were parked all the way down the road. One car near the trailhead had had its window broken out, presumably the night before. It was still parked there when we left the next day. Might want to be careful with leaving valuables in the car.

We hiked up to the Big Creek Bridge before setting up camp for the night. The trail was in good condition, mostly dry with a few muddy places and a few small streams running down it. River crossings were easily accomplished by hopping on rocks or logs, though the water seemed to be running higher later in the day than it was in the morning. My guidebook indicated that there were good campsites just beyond Big Creek, but we couldn't find any so we came back down the trail a couple hundred yards. Found a really nice site down by a small stream with a fire circle that was just visible from the trail. We had intended to take a look at Otter Falls, but since there was no sign we weren't sure where the trail lead off. There were some rock cairns along the trail, but they were knocked over when we came back through on Sunday. I assume they were indicating the falls.