I chose the awesome Upper Big Creek trail with sunshine blazing all over the Pacific Northwest. Even though this is an interior water feature type of hike, I didn't want to miss out on the snow before it melts. The roads are clear. There are no bathrooms right now...hit Hoodsport before/afterwards. You can easily park on the side of the road or in the small lot before the locked campgrounds gate. There's intermittent snow from the start and you might notice right away that it's icy and slippery as heck. That's the quality of snow the whole way. No fun grippy stuff. You will slip and minimally post hole here and there even with traction. Just before the sign for the lookout stating it's one mile (more like 1.5), I donned my snowshoes. A few hikers went past saying they wish they had their snowshoes. I was feeling pretty good and then I stepped off the trail and sank to my hip. Yeah. You don't need snowshoes, but I learned on this hike when there's snow, the first half going clockwise can be easy-peasy and the second half can kick your butt with tons of snow. There is a lot more snow on the second half for sure. I ventured onto the Elinor lookout trail for a blip until I got spooked (not sure by what, but I listen when my instincts say turn around). There are a few downed trees, one you have to throw your leg over, one step over, and one move around it. Last thing, the bridges have all been cleared. That is a game changer for anyone worried about them based on past reviews. Spikes will help in the current snowy conditions. Snowshoes may be overkill but I was pleased as punch to have mine. Happy trekking!

This was a lovely, quiet hike. We didn't see anyone else on the trail on a Sunday morning, although the parking lot was full when we got back to our car. There's no snow on the road to the parking lot, but most of the trail is covered in snow. We started with microspikes and then switched to snowshoes for 2+ miles in the middle of the loop where the snow is several feet deep. You could do the trail without snowshoes, but you'd post-hole a lot. As another reviewer mentioned, crossing some of the bridges is a little precarious with how the snow has stacked up, but as long as you're careful you should be fine.

Road from Hoodsport to Big Creek Campground/trailhead clear of snow. Once you leave the road to start hiking, lots of snow! On lower portions of the trail snow was 6 to 8" deep, but near the top we encountered 2 to 2 1/2' of snow. Microspikes were essential for us, and trekking poles were also useful. Most areas had a well packed path, but in the deeper snow we post-holed a number of times. There are several footbridges with deep uneven snow that were challenging to cross safely (would be very difficult for children). All in all a really lovely day with partial sun and lots of bright snow and beautiful forest.

Thanks to the snow the Olympics received recently, Big Creek was definitely a winter wonderland. The trail was difficult, but not impossible, and was snow covered the ENTIRE way. The tiny parking area was buried under loads of snow so everyone had to park on the side of the road, squeezing along the wall of plowed snow so as to not block the road. We took the counter clockwise route and started post holing about a mile in. This continued until we reached the confluence area of the creek, but wasn't 100% of our steps. We passed several people in snow shoes which would have been nice to have but our micro spikes were fine for traction. It was a beautiful day with sunshine and blue sky in spots, but with that comes warmer temps which caused the trees to lose their snow, often in large chunks. It felt like they were throwing snowballs at us at times. So because of that, we looked like we had hiked through the rain. Thank goodness for waterproof jackets. The bridges were the sketchiest part of this hike. The snow had piled up and as some people made their way across, their feet had sunk all the way through and off the side of the bridge, creating large gaping holes in the pathway. Just take it slow and really pay attention to where you're placing your feet on the bridge and you'll be fine. There were a lot of people out enjoying the day and several very happy dogs. It was a fabulous hike!

Best day ever! My second time on this trail, and first time hiking snow any time. I didn't expect it today, because the most recent trip report I saw said snow free. But of course it snowed on Wednesday. Eye roll.

Confirming previous trip report: the campground restrooms are locked. There are also portapotties behind the businesses in Hoodsport. The picnic area by Lake Cushman had not been cleared of snow, but there are portapotties there too.

The trail was snow covered the entire way, not deep. Definitely not deep enough for snowshoes. None of the six hikers I saw had micro spikes, but my 70-year-old self was happy for the ones I just purchased.

Really gorgeous day. I guess I'm a snow hiker now.

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