I took a quick family hike today with a 4-year-old from the Garfield Ledges trailhead. It was a little hazy, but still a perfect day topping out at 70 and the early hints of fall foliage starting to show.

The drive up from North Bend is a relaxing treat on a pristine paved road until standard gravel right after the last bridge right before the trailhead. We started hiking at 2:00 with a few other vehicles in the parking lot. Next time we will for sure bring a picnic lunch for the 10 or so picnic tables right along the river.

The trail is in great dry condition. It's a mix of well-traveled dirt and some crushed stone in places. It's a steady climb the entire way but never to the point of feeling tough. The stairs about halfway may be the only point where you'll do those lunges to get from one step to the next. The stair structure though is impressive work. We got to the top and were the only people there, with a second party arriving soon after. The viewpoint was perfect for relaxing and looking out at the hawks soaring. It was well worth the short hike. Overall time with a young child walking was around 2 hours.

Time now to look for other hikes possible in this beautiful valley.

Did a hike up to Garfield Ledges from the Middle Fork Snoqualmie trailhead after doing the Pratt River Connector trail. According to my GPS track the roundtrip to Garfield Ledges via the Middle Fork Connector trail came to a total of 3.25 miles and 670 feet of elevation gain.

The Middle Fork Connector is pretty much flat and winds through some nice mossy bits of forest. There is one spot where the trail curves right past the Taylor River where there are two log chairs and access to the riverside and a nice view up at Mount Garfield, Stegosaurus Butte, and a bit down the upper portion of the MFS valley. The tread on the connector is in great shape and mostly loam.

The Garfield Ledges trail is short and could basically by described as two long switchbacks with some nice stairs in the middle. The trail is in excellent shape. The whole lower portion below the stairs and a bit above the stairs is wide, smooth loam - very easy walking. The upper section has a long stretch of something you could call either small loose rock or large gravel, however it's not steep so the grip is fine.

The ledge at the end has a great view down the Middle Fork valley, though today that direction has the mostly cloudy and the opposite direction had the partly cloudy so I'm sure I didn't even get the full effect. For the easiness of the trail the view payoff is quite good so this would be a good option to take new hikers.

I took a quick hike today from the Middle Fork Snoqualmie trailhead along the Connector Trail to Garfield Ledges. I've never done this hike before and it was finally time. It was a beautiful day! 

THE ROAD

Pristine! Paved all the way with no potholes to be seen to Middle Fork Snoqualmie trailhead. The parking lot is MASSIVE. It's been a few years since I've been out here, and I completely forgot how big it was.

I got to the parking lot around 8:30 this morning and it was practically empty. Tons of empty spaces. I was surprised at how quiet it was considering I thought I was getting a later-than-usual start. 

The Garfield Ledges trailhead parking lot was smaller but also nearly empty when I got there along the Connector Trail (maybe around 8:45-9?). 

When I got back down to the Garfield Ledges trailhead around 10:15 or so, it was almost full. I got back to Middle Fork Snoqualmie trailhead shortly after, and it was nowhere near full, but there were definitely more cars around than before.

If you're willing to add an extra mile to your hike, I definitely recommend parking at the Middle Fork Snoqualmie trailhead. Not only is the road paved the entire way, but the parking area is absolutely huge, and the hike to the Garfield Ledges trailhead is very flat. 

THE TRAIL

The trail is in excellent condition. It is rocky and rooty in some places, but it's not difficult or a big deal. I was happy with the gradual grade, save for a couple sets of stairs in the middle (which were also in great shape). 

I only saw a few people on my way up, and shared the viewpoint with four other hikers. I saw several more hikers on my way down — around a dozen, perhaps — although it was still pretty quiet.

BUGS

Nada. I was very glad. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Big payoff and great views for a short hike!

Short & relatively easy hike with great views! The trail is well maintained & peaceful.

Wonderful, short hike. My friends and I were looking for a short hike close to North Bend with good views and little elevation gain. This hit the spot.

We got to the trailhead at around noon and there were only two other cars in the lot. The drive up to the trailhead was lovely and quiet along the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie. It passes by a bunch of other trailheads as well. The forest service road was well maintained and paved. We started when it was overcast and had just stopped raining.

The trail was super well maintained as well. We walked on beautiful forested, moss covered, lichen-draped trails. There’s an obstructed view about half a mile in that previews what’s ahead. We only saw one family the entire hike. A quick half mile jaunt past the overlook got us to the end of the trail and a gorgeous view of the valley below. The sun came out as soon as we got to the top and got toasty!