I began at the north end trailhead. At this time of year the vegetation is green, thick and wet after the last couple days of rain which made for very humid conditions. Most of the trail is in the shade, so that cooled things down. The route follows along the north side of the Sauk River with lots of glimpses of the water along the way. There is good path down to the river's edge about half way into the trail. The end of the trail comes abruptly to an end where the bridge has collapsed. It is hard to see the lake now as it is full of foliage.

The trail is in good condition. There is one tree slanted across the trail, but it is fairly easy to duck under it. There are a couple trees across the trail that have been there for several years, but they have had notches cut that makes them easy to get over.

I had lunch at the Sauk River access on the north side of the MLH. There is a great site there as it is the confluence of the White Chuck and Sauk Rivers. The Sauk is mild and green but the White Chuck is crashing white water flowing over large rocks.

There is restroom at the Beaver Lake trailhead and at the river access parking lot-both well stocked and clean.

There were no other hikers this morning.

Trail runs along the river which is pleasant. However, quite overgrown in many areas and despite diligence I got some nettle stings. Also a number of blowdowns to climb over/ under. The bridge at the end is out halfway across which means you can’t really see the lake except through the trees. I did see a kingfisher, hairy woodpecker and some Cedar waxwings, also common yellowthroat at a distance. Despite its short distance and low elevation , I would not recommend this trail for kids. Looked like some trail repairs were being done, kudos to whoever is making them

Trail to the bridge was scenic along the Sauk River in some stretches. Trail mostly easy and level with a few sizable logs to maneuver around/through (challenging for shorter folks and those with balance issues). Was hoping to maybe get past the bridge based on an earlier review but the ancient decaying bridge was the end.  Nice to hang out there on the bridge over the wetland. Lots of birds, more heard than seen. Tasty ripe thimbleberries, trailing blackberries almost ripe. Watch out for stinging nettles along the trail.

The Beaver Lake trail used to go approximately 3 miles and end at the Mt. Loop Highway south of the trailhead.  In the storms of 2003 and/or 2006 the Sauk River washed out the trail in a section about 2 miles from the trail head.  At some point the bridge at Beaver Lake got hit by a falling log and damaged.   The current trail is maintained to the broken bridge about 1.5 miles in.  A path has now been made at the washed-out section and the entire trail can be traversed if you cross the damaged bridge or starting from the other end you can go north to the bridge from the Mt Loop Highway.  ¼ mile from the south end is a 15ft dead Cedar tree still standing.  This trail is doable most anytime of the year.  The old trail from the bridge to the washed-out section is very brushy.  I cleaned it some to make it clear where the trail is, but it needs more work.  In the Fall lots of dead fish heads have been observed near the washed-out section.  This is now a slow flowing side branch to the river and fishing must be easy.

First half was a well maintained trail. Once you reach the beaver dam and the switchback, the trail gets a little overgrown. Trail is still fairly visible through the marshy end, but some of the plants grow over the path and have spikes.

Highly recommend wearing pants for this if you intend to go all the way to the end of the trail at the broken bridge. If you just want to check out the beaver dam, it's a nice and short walk, less than a mile.

The bugs were just starting to come out in the heat and fair warning we did spot a black bear a little bit off the trail.