A nice quiet river ramble, a flat trail along the Sauk river, once the site of an old RR bed. Even though we saw only older hikers like us, this would be an excellent hike for kids. The trail runs right along the water in a few spots along the way, good for rock throwing. Lots of bridges for trolls to hide under, and Billy Goats Gruff to trample over. The lake is actually more of a big pond and there are a few old beaver dams in the water. The trail is very safe, except there is one small slide with a bit of a dropoff requiring a little caution, right around the remnants of the old RR tracks. The trail ends at the river with a nice lunch log in the sun, and a fine view of peaks. I'm not sure which ones, if somebody recognizes them let me know.(posted pics) Twin Peaks perhaps? We also saw a pair of eagles. There are a couple of trails that go to the river from the parking lot. Locate the trail to the lake in the parking lot by looking for 2 small rocks and a trail in between. You will see the trail sign just down the trail.

After an hour and a half hike on the White Chuck Bench Trail, I drove down the road and lo and behold right across the HWY was the Beaver Lake Trail Head. Luckily I had cell service so I was able to look this hike up and see that it was an easy 4 mile hike. I had plenty of time and sunshine left so I crossed over, parked and started along this trail. It follows along the Sauk River on an old rail bed and today it was beautiful as well. The ground was still frosty so mud was at a minimum. This was another solitary hike, just me and my dogs on both trails. Beautiful river and mountain views all along the way. The trail is in good condition. Just one section along the river looks a little close to being washed out. Pass by the nearly frozen lake and continue along the trail to the end. It opens up with great views and was a nice spot to soak up some rare November Sunshine. Two great hikes right next to each other. What could be better on such a terrific Saturday.

After hiking White Chuck Bench I had plenty of time for another hike. Never hiked this before and found the views along the Sauk River outstanding. Beaver Lake wasn't much of a destination hike, but really enjoyed the hike to the lake, fall colors, great views, a great day to be enjoying the outdoors.

I took my wife on three short hikes South of Darrington. The little jaunt down to North Fork Sauk Falls was a great stop because the flow was the best ever. The next destination two miles up the road was Harold Engles Memorial Cedars, which are truly impressive trees. There is a loop trail and a loop within the loop that leads to an excellent grove of giant cedars. The final hike was the Beaver Lake trail. We turned around just after the Beaver pond. There are several good viewpoints along the river. We capped the day with a picnic at the boat launch on Forest Road 22 beside the Sauk River. What a lovely day to enjoy the great outdoors. All trails are clear. There are a few muddy places, but no problems otherwise except a few nasty mosquitos and flies. Happy Fourth of July Hiking, Geezerhiker (More pictures below)

Decided to take a drive out on the Mountain Loop. This is a nice quick stop. It's a very nice hike similar to Lime Kiln, but much shorter. One important note: there is no grand lake; the destination is essentially a large beaver pond/marsh/lake--the trail keeps on going through the beaver area until the river so it is not entirely obvious that the area with the beaver dams is the destination.