What a great little quickie right off the 101. Parking is a bit limited at the moment due to debris in front of the gate. I could see a few extra spots to park off the 101. To hit the trail and/or check out the falls take an immediate left and stay left until you hit the 2nd wave of signage. From there you can either head left down to the Big Quilcene River and hit the trail loop or head right and check out the falls. We did both which came to ~2 miles and ~500' descent/ascent. The trail loop contained great sights/sounds of a raging river and the occasional wildflower. Closer to the end of the trail there's a few steep spots which might be of concern if you're hiking with little ones. Too bad the camp ground seems closed indefinitely.

This is a shorter & fairly steep (in some areas) canyon hike through second-growth forest along the Big Quilcene River. Falls View Campground remains closed, just park at the gate. When you enter take an immediate left & follow the moss covered campground road passing some bathrooms, eventually reaching the trailhead that's marked with a map of the trail. I've linked the map down at the bottom of this report. There's a much smaller loop (0.1 mi) just to the right of the canyon loop that leads you to the only complete view of the falls as they cascade down the canyon wall into the river. The longer loop begins when you descend down into the canyon with a few steep switchbacks complete with some stairs & quite a bit of loose rock. The trail is also narrow in some of these places too, maybe making this a little challenging for people who have balance issues like me or injuries, chronic pain, etc... trekking poles would definitely be of some help here. The bottom of the canyon is delightful with smaller waterfalls & little streams everywhere rushing toward the Big Quilcene river, then the stunning view of the river itself, tons of huge sword ferns with nearly everything covered in all types of moss; in total Olympic Peninsula style. Perfect for a partly sunny spring day. There are also a lot of rhododendrons along both trail loops & in the campground. They aren't blooming yet, but I'm sure when they do it'll just be even more gorgeous/enjoyable. For the conditions: there was just 1 small tree across the canyon trail where the loop meets the main trail. Not a big deal to get over at all. As others have noted there is mud in a few spots but it's very minimal (no puddles at all) & super typical for trails here. We got there around 1pm w/ a single car in the lot which happened to be a family leaving as soon as we started down the campground road. We didn't come across anyone else until hiking out; 1 small group of hikers & a single person with a dog. On the way up to the TH the part of the road just outside the closed Mt. Walker gate was pretty much full, so if you're looking for solitude it's probably gonna either be here, Elbow Creek, Rainbow Canyon, or ~maybe~ Lower Big Quilcene. Side note: Driving back, going south down 101 an hr or 2 before sunset we saw an Elk herd near Hamma Hamma River - just in case you're into that sort of thing Happy hiking!

Absolutely gorgeous hike. The campground is closed so you just have to park outside the gate. Take a left and walk through the campground a little. There's a fork to go right or left, keep going left. You'll go past bathrooms and then a little after that is the trail head. It's marked clear on the trail head the hike. You can go right and get the best in un-obstructed view of the Falls which is maybe .10 from the Falls. Or go left which is the actual hike, the Falls are at the beginning. There's a little lookout right at the beginning where you can go and see the Canyon and the Falls too, I waited on the way back to go because I like to save the Falls for last. It's downhill and little switchbacks the first part. Then you get down the to the river where there is a really pretty view. It was pretty muddy but nothing that isn't typical PNW. You hike and there are pretty views of the river along the way. At the end there's a little loop that connects you back to the middle of the trail and you go back the way you came. It's a really little loop. On the way back you go back up those little switchbacks and uphill. There are stairs to help in the steeper parts. It definitely was a workout for me and my husband but it was great. Absolutely beautiful hike, no one was there when we were there. We took our three pups. If you're a beginner hiker, it is a great one to start out with. Even if you're a seasoned hiker, it's worth it. It smells beautiful and the lookouts are amazing.

The trail had all the wind fall removed and was in good condition. There were a couple a snow patches left on the trail in the bottom of the valley, but they will be gone in the next couple of days. The last couple of days with all the rain fall and snow melt had the river and falls roaring.

This trail is still accessible by parking in the pullout in front of the gate to the closed campground. Take a left after the gate and follow the road to the trailhead. The campground looks like it has been closed for quite some time and the trail appears neglected as well. this was a beautiful stroll in the woods even in the rain.