A fun Olympic Forest hike, adjacent to the Big Creek Campground, and one of the easiest to access trail-systems in the area. Upper Big Creek Trail runs parallel to the Forest Rd 2419, so some sound pollution during the spring/summer is a given. A good workout with some nice views of Skinwood & North Branch creeks. Theres a few limited parking spots near the closed gate (Campground is closed in the winter time), as well as on the sides of North Lake Cushman Rd (if there's overflow). The trail was in good shape, with a few bridges over the creek beds (one of which is guarded by the infamous Skinwood Bridge troll!). Slushy snowpack from the recent storm made for a more challenging ascent, and a slower decent. If planning on hiking within the next few days as the snow melts, i'd recommend some type of traction device (YakTrax, microspikes, crampons, snowshoes etc.) as the trail was definitely slippery. All in all, a great little hike any time of year, and especially for nearby Big Creek campers during the warmer months.

We arrived at the trail head just before 11 a.m. on a Sunday with no other cars in sight. The twisty windy drive to this awesome hike took some white knuckling at times (it had been nicely plowed after the hike). All wheel drive is a must if there are ice/snow conditions. We buckled up our snowshoes in the parking lot; there was at least a foot of snow on the ground. We took the clockwise route following ghost tracks. It snowed most of our time on the loop. The snow on the trail was soft and deep. We found ourselves up to our shins often even with snowshoes. The trail is easy to follow even without the markers you find at places designed for a lot of traffic. If you want a back country feel when you snowshoe, add this to your must-do list and wait for the right conditions. A couple things, the incline is no joke with no snow, with a foot of soft wet snow, it's a beast. The descent was harder than it's ever been for me. The bonus is that all the water features are on the second half of this hike if you go clockwise. Have fun, stay dry and warm, and bring snacks.

After reading many recent Reports of their nice hikes of the Big Creek Trail #827.1, this (MON 08Feb2021) morning, i went to "join in the fun" .. Thank y'all for the Report(s) .. Indeed, the #827.1 is a good hike. Also, the recent reported (some) hard-packed snow (~1 ins) above 1,800ft is correct (shown in my hike-map: between (3) and (5) - mostly small little patches; the "longest" stretch was (~30 ft) that on/around the Big Creek bridge. All were easily passable, though i put on my recently purchased cheapo MicroSpikes to "test" it, and for the fun of it :P

i did the hike "Clockwise". And on my way out/up - at ~1.5 mile, i encountered 2 people sitting on a bench enjoying the views and sounds of the flowing Creek (below). After crossing the North Branch Big Creek bridge, i encountered a group of ~8 people and their friendly dog (they probably did the Trail "Counter-Clockwise"). ~100 ft after the Skinwood Creek bridge, i encountered 7 men and a young-woman doing Trail-maintainence .. WTA Volunteers?  i thanked each and everyone of them for their good work!! :) ~500 ft further and descending, i encountered 2 hikers coming up. 

That's a total of 20 people and 1 dog during my ~2+ hrs on the Trail .. so much quiet and lovely solitude in the beautiful forest!

The Trail is in very good condition .. There are a few small wet muddy patches (all easily passable) up at the higher elevations, but its to be expected cos of the recent few days of rain. Also, do be extra cautious when crossing the wooden bridge(s) - it may be icy and slippery. 

Again, many thanks to the good folks who does all the hard-work maintainig the Trails so others, including me - can enjoy it! Happy Trails Everyone! :)

Just an update to say that the trail is almost snow free! Hiked the loop clockwise, and didn't encounter snow on the trail until the main Big Creek crossing at the top of the loop. Slushy snow covered the trail for the next hundred feet or so, and then the rest of the trail was snow free. I carried spikes, but never needed them.

arrived at TH at 9am... first car there! Hiked the loop clockwise. trail is in great condition and snow free for first 1.25 miles. after that pretty solid snow on trail for the next few miles ... fairly easy to navigate but there were some spots that could get slippery on the hills. passed one hiker going in the opposite direction but other than that we had the trail to ourselves.