Trail was smooth and the route itself is stunning with moss covered ground. The view from the top is worth the effort. Arrived at noon and had a picnic before the hike. Completed by 4pm. Saw a group on their way down and a couple of hikers came up while we were enjoying the view at the top. Definitely, stop and savor the view at midpoint.

This is a hidden gem and a nice mellow recovery day hike. I especially love the velvety moss forest floor in the first part. The view is as good as many of the easily accessed view trails like Rattlesnake Ridge, but with far less people. Today we had the trail to ourselves right until the end when we ran into a group doing a photo shoot.

It’s worth noting that the last tiny portion of the road in, past the Taylor River bridge, is a potholed moonscape. Any car would make it if you’re careful. We sometimes park in the Middle Fork lot - there’s a nice connector trail from there to the Garfield Ledges trailhead.

Arrived at the trailhead around 1:30pm on a Monday. The Middle Fork road is in great condition up until the bridge between the camping area and the Garfield ledges trailhead. My Subaru Forester did fine, but would recommend parking at the Middle Fork Trailhead lot and walking over.

Saw two people on the way up, two others at the top, and a group of five or so on the way down. All in all, a very calm day on the trail. 

Great reward at the top for very little trail mileage. Trail is very well maintained. 

What a great little trail! We had an errand in the area, with a bunch of driving before and after. We wanted a little break in the middle but didn't have a ton of time. This was great for this. 

The road is great for the whole paved section, but gets ridiculously rough right after the bridge. But it's such a short distance. We arrived mid-day on a Saturday and there was a lot of free parking at the trailhead. The outhouse had clearly been cleaned quite recently and was stocked. 

The trail is in good shape, wide and relatively smooth. We saw a bunch of families and a few folks hiking with dogs, all on leashes. 

The view at the top is really quite great. I've been in the valley many times, and it was fun to see it from this angle. 

At the top, we saw a snake and a lizard, both spotted by some sharp-eyed kids. 

Very glad we got to finally hike this one! 

The hiking grandmas did a mellow hike to end our hikeathon quest today, two hikes from the same TH. First, we hiked up to the Ledge for some nice views of the valley and surrounding hills. The trail is in great shape, and we got there early enough to have the ledge to ourselves. After the ledge we hiked a ways on the Middle Fork until our knees started talking to us and told us to turn around. We found a nice place by the river with a view of Garfield Peak to eat lunch and called it a day. All told 7 miles. I made my mileage goal of 100 by adding this to get 106! We are able to count our neighborhood walks now, which helps. Conservation Northwest was there today educating hikers about our forest animals and native plants, fun to talk to them!  Loos clean, but BYOTP. The water is very low and the forest is extremely dry, we need our rain!!  If you want to help me finish off my hikeathon funds go to hikeathon, donate, scroll down to Linda Roe. Thanks!