Beautiful day for a hike. My first time hiking to the falls and I arrived at the trail head just before 7:30 am. The parking lot was half full. Trail was pleasantly clear for trash.
I used hiking poles and was glad I did. They really helped me navigate the rocks and trail’s steeper sections.
When I made it to the falls, there were only about 8 people there. 30 minutes later, the number doubled. On the way back to the trailhead, I passed about 30-40 people hiking in various sized groups.
Very glad I started my hike early. Highly recommend it.

I arrived at the trailhead around 10:30am and there were still quite a few parking spots left. I was disappointed at how much litter was scattered around the parking lot...more on litter later in this report as well. This trailhead doesn't have a place for you to buy a NW Forest Pass, so make sure you buy one ahead of time.

The trail is in great condition, though I will tell anyone doing this hike please be prepared for a LOT of stairs and intense rock navigation. This was especially tricky coming back down; I almost sprained an ankle at one point. I saw one man hiking this trail in flip flops and/or barefoot (I passed him twice doing one or the other). This is definitely not a choice I would make...but to each their own I guess. 

If you decide to hike up to Bridal Veil Falls, I recommend doing this before you go to the lake. Just like others have said, you likely won't want to do it on the way back because the ascent to the lake is intense. There were ripe blue and red huckleberries, as well as thimbleberries, but most of the salmonberries have been picked over at this point.

MY BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Litter and other hikers blaring country music on their bluetooth speaker at Lunch Rock. My jaw dropped at the intense beauty of Lake Serene, quickly followed by rage as I looked down to see a myriad of Starburst wrappers, plastic bottles, Redbull cans, broken plastic containers from a pair of sunglasses, and even a small coat hanger. I couldn't fit all of this in my own pack, so I recruited some nearby hikers to help me clean up and put some in their trash bags to carry out. I picked up all the garbage I could find and left the place much better than I found it--however, I draw the line at others' bandaids and dog poop bags, of which I passed far too many. I desperately wish other hikers would respect the land they inhabit and Leave No Trace. This includes noise pollution. Other hikers do not want to hear your music, especially when we've worked so hard to get to such a beautiful place for some peace and quiet. I waited around long enough for that group to leave (and also reminded them to pick up their litter before they left...) so I could actually enjoy myself, but it was definitely a bummer to have this happen at all. 

I was very proud of this solo hike, and would definitely deem it "hard," not "moderate." The last hike I did was to Upper Granite Lake and that was labled "hard" but it was much easier compared to this hike. The ascent is hard enough with the steep grade, and then add the rock navigation and stairs on top of that. Definitely worth the climb if you can make it, though! Bugs were not bad overall, I only killed one mosquito when I was retying my boots descending. I got back to my car around 3:45pm and the lot was full. 

The trail was a little over grown does need to be maintained/cut back just a tad. It was really hard to pass/let others pass as the trail got very narrow at times. But other than that I don’t have any complaints. It was a STUNNING hike with amazing views that I highly recommend! If you bring your pup please make sure they are used to hiking as some parts of the trail can be difficult to navigate for them. Also please pick up after your animal and pack it out. Great for kids my son (9) was able to do it with little issue but the last half mile is the stair master section and is really tiring on little legs! My 16 month old was in her hiking backpack and did well. Please keep your kids and animals safe when at the falls as it’s easy to get swept off your feet and slip off a steep drop off.

We arrived around 10:30a on a Friday morning. The main lot was full but luckily someone was pulling out as we arrived. 

We had to apply mosquito repellent part way up. I’d recommend bringing it with you.

The falls were lovely and the spray was super refreshing. 

Back to one of my favorite trails. Falls are amazing and lunch on Lunch Rock is a must. 

We arrived at the trailhead at about 9 a.m. on a beautiful sunny Wednesday morning. Still tons of parking available in the main lot. I even remembered to bring my Northwest Forest Pass. Bathrooms are better than average.

It was pretty warm and muggy on the way up and the bugs started before the turn off for the falls. They weren't biting, but just a bit annoying. Annoying enough that we stopped and pulled out the bug spray and that helped alot.

With the temperature likely to hit at least the mid 80s, we debated skipping the falls since we'd all been there before, but we decided to tough it out. We also wanted to check out the great new rock staircase that WTA finished last week. Stairs look great. Falls never disappoint.

Back to the main trail and up to the lake. Trail is in great shape. Rocky as ever and lots of stairs. We hardly saw anyone on the way up. There were two groups of 4 on Lunch Rock when we stopped there for lunch. Then my daughter went for a swim and we headed back.

Another great day in the woods. We were all glad for the drinks we left in the ice cooler when we got back to the car. Only complaint is Zeke's is closed on Tuesday/Wednesday so we weren't able to get our favorite Huckleberry Frozen Lemonade on the way home.