We chose Garfield Ledges for a short afternoon hike on a beautifully sunny Saturday. The drive near the Mailbox Peak parking lot had been rather slow, having to squeeze past an almost unbroken chain of parked cars about half a mile long, starting at the Valley Camp junction (where the one-way road ends). However, once past that traffic jam the road to Garfield Ledges was clear and quiet.

The road is paved almost the entire way. It turns to gravel just after the Middle Fork Campground. There are some hefty potholes right where the paving ends, and again on either side of the bridge, but once you've made it to the gravel parking lot the worst is over. A Prius and Tesla had made it seemingly in one piece, but most cars had higher clearance.

At the trailhead there is a double pit toilet in excellent condition (by pit toilet standards). It appears clean, does not particularly smell, is reasonably well stocked, and the lock functions. What more could you ask for?

The trail begins behind the pit toilet. The actual wooden trailhead sign (with the informational posters) is a stone's throw away up a little slope, and is clearly visible from the parking lot.

We began the hike at 2:30pm. It took us 45 minutes to reach the top, but we stopped a lot. The trail is mostly in the shade, under the cover of tall trees, though the sun bursts through in some gaps and there are a couple of sneak peek view points on the way up.

The view from the top was better than I expected, though the price you pay is a lack of shade. There is absolutely zero vegetation obscuring the view, so you get a wide panorama of the Middle Fork valley. There's also a small board with some information about the area.

After spending about 15 minutes at the top baking in the sun, we retreated back into the trees and headed back down, which took about 30 minutes (still with several stops).

As a bonus, after reaching the parking lot, walk over the bridge and take a right through a gap in the fence. There is a seemingly maintained trail that leads to a small rocky "beach" on the river.

This is a good "I can cut out of work a little early this afternoon and get outside to enjoy the weather" hike; also it would seem to be a good hike for young kids or those not in tiptop shape who are open to a small challenge yielding a wonderful view at the top as a reward.

The trail is quite nice and well-maintained; most of it is soft tread, not rocky or rooty.  Stairsteps in a few especially steep sections.  The route is clear as can be.  It is almost entirely shaded; no need for sunscreen or a hat unless you plan to linger a long time at the "ledges" at the top, where there is full sun exposure.

The only 'watch out' is that while Middle Fork Road is a smooth, paved road in excellent condition (and you have to travel quite a ways on it), the pavement ends about 200 yards before the trailhead parking, and there are some very severe potholes from that point onward.  It would be a very unpleasant and challenging drive if these conditions were present for a longer length.  It's probably navigable for a conventional vehicle (though do your best to steer around the holes), but an SUV is preferred, and definitely not a vehicle with especially low clearance.

My hiking companion and my dog and I arrived at the trailhead at about 3:00 PM on a Thursday afternoon, only 4 vehicles there.  We encountered only one other hiker (a solo hiker) on the entire hike.  50 minutes from trailhead to the top (my hiking companion is an avid photo taker, without her in tow it probably would have been more like 35-40 minutes), about 25 minutes down.  My Fitbit recorded 5321 steps.

There are two pit toilets at the trailhead.  There are also a couple of picnic tables (in good condition) by the river across the parking lot from the trailhead; that'd be a most pleasant place for a pre- or post-hike snack or picnic.

Anyway, bottom line is a good, short hike that is not "jaw dropping" with respect to beauty (by Washington state standards) or overly physically demanding, but is most pleasant and enjoyable, and the natural beauty is certainly nice enough.  If it were in Ohio, it'd be the most beautiful place in the state :).

Popped over on a Tuesday after work. There were three cars in the lot but only one of them were on the trail and we did not pass each other until the end. As noted in other reports there were some moon craters on the last 1,000 feet of the road starting just before the bridge. I was able to pass it in my Subaru Crosstrek just fine going slow and zig zagging. If you need to there’s plenty of parking outside of the lot and it probably only adds a quarter mile. The mosquitos were present and accounted for. Bring bug spray. All in all a nice little hike for a weekday decompression.

Busy day at the Garfield Ledges parking area - everyone had the same idea as me to get outside and enjoy the sunshine ;) The lot was almost completely full around 11:30 am when I arrived (I slept in), but I managed to find a spot when I arrived. As many others have mentioned, really don't recommend parking at the trailhead unless you have a high clearance vehicle as the potholes are bad the last 1000 feet or so.

Trail is in great condition, and I did get bit by a mosquito at the top, but that was it. Absolutely gorgeous day to soak in the views and get a good leg stretch in!

The road getting to the trailhead is good for any vehicle, except for the last 1000 feet or so.  If you don't have a higher clearance vehicle, I suggest you park at the nearby Middle Fork Campground. 

There is parking there, but on a nice day it gets filled up quickly. 

Beautiful views on a nice day.