3 people found this report helpful
Looks like the parking lot for this TH has been regraded as the potholes don’t look as bad as I remember. Still, we parked at the Middle Fork lot and took Connector trail over, adding maybe a mile or so to the hike. Conditions were dry so the fern looked less green. Plenty of red huckleberries along the trail! The vault toilets were a little stinky but had TP.
3 people found this report helpful
Short little hike on a quiet trail with great views!
Parking lot had LOTS of deep potholes- a high clearance vehicle can make it through without problems, but low clearance cars should park before it turns from pavement to gravel, and walk the ~5 mins to the trailhead.
Hiked with our puppy and we made it to the summit in ~30 minutes at a semi-relaxed pace. Arrived at the parking lot at ~6:30pm and there were plenty of spots left. Only saw two other groups on the trail.
I was a bit confused where the trailhead is since there aren't obvious signs until you're ~30 ft into the hike. The trail starts right next to the bathrooms and climbs up that hill
Great short hike, slightly more elevation than I expected but still relatively easy. We had 2 two year olds with us that barely hiked because of some sections with larger rocks and the thin(ish) trail with steep edges. Great for kids, but not really little kids. Pretty great view of the valley at the top!
6 people found this report helpful
I joined a WTA work party at Middle Fork Snoqualmie and arrived at the parking area around 7:30 AM. There are two privies in the large parking area and a Forest Service pass is required to park there. After our morning meeting, our large group hiked on the Middle Fork Trail for about 1 1/2 miles and started our work from there. Our work for the day was basic trail maintenance, which included digging and clearing drains of leaves and other debris, removing weeds and that were narrowing the trail corridor, and trimming large shrubs away from the trail. We worked in three groups and spread out along the trail. The part of the Middle Fork Trail that we covered today is dry and in good shape. There are some areas that could still use some brushing but otherwise there are no obstacles of note.
After the work party, I decided to hike up to the viewpoint at Garfield Ledges. From the main (paved) parking lot, I hiked the Middle Fork Connector Trail, which is a short walk near the river that offers a couple of spots with nice viewpoints and in my opinion, is much nicer than walking along the road. The trail ends at a bridge that leads to the large parking area for the Garfield Ledges trailhead. I walked over the bridge and through the large parking area and found the trailhead near a privy. The Garfield Ledges trail is short but is pretty much up, up, and up to viewpoints of the Snoqualmie River valley. The trail is dry and in great shape with no obstacles of note. After some snacks at the viewpoint, I returned to the paved parking area following the same route. At the parking area I added some mileage to my hike by meandering around the river by the picnic areas and ended up with a four mile round trip hike.
We camped at Muddle Fork so walked to the trailhead. The trailhead is just past where the pavement ends, and there is plenty of parking. It's a pretty rough drop at the end of the pavement so slow down at that point. If you don't want to take your vehicle off pavement you can park on the right just before the pavement ends and walk across the bridge to the trailhead.
We started around 3:30pm and there were no cars in the parking areas. Bathroom at the trailhead. This trail is short but climbs from the beginning until you reach the ledges. At the top the views are amazing and there are a few spots to sit and take in the scenery. We encountered one other group of 2 with a dog during our afternoon hike. Overall this is a really nice trail, well maintained, and a good view at the top.