Lily Lake and Lizard Lake

We had planned on taking the British Army trail to Lizard but discovered a gate and signage at the upper trailhead parking lot require walking the forest road up to British Army trail. We opted for a loop hike by going up the Alternate Incline trail to Lizard, then hiking the lake loop trail and back down to the upper trailhead via the Lily Lake trail. this is a six mile loop although we added about 2 more miles with exploring off trail. The trails are generally in great shape. There is mud on the loop trail but nothing extrodinary for the time of year. A dusting of snow brightened the forest floor above 1900 ft. (max elev. of trail is 2000 ft at the lakes). The western half of the loop from Lizard to Lily Lake is not well maintained or signed; angle uphill at the junction at Lizard Lake to a huge boulder then veer left (southwest up a draw where flagging is visible and the trail becomes apparent. this loop hike is a real gem of a hike passing through mature second growth with a couple of shallow lakes and even a view out over Skagit flats. Blowdowns and stream crossings are minor and infrequent.