Middle fork road is now opened, lots of cars on this road and full at every trailhead.  We arrived at Garfield ledge parking area at 2pm it was full but there were people getting ready to leave.  It was not crowded on this trail and easy to social distance.  Beautiful view of the valley and middle fork snoqualmie river at the ledge.

We had just hiked the Taylor River Trail out to Big Falls and Otter Falls but we wanted some heart pumping elevation, so we figured, why not tack this short and sweet little jaunt onto the end of our day? Great view of the Snoqualmie Valley from the top. But definitely not a ton of room to spread out and sit at the top so it got a little crowded but people didn't hang around too long. Short and steep but beautiful trail . A tree had fallen over at the beginning and took out part of the trail from it's root area but not impossible to get around, just be cautious. A few spots were super muddy and slippery. Seemed family friendly, just watch your kiddos at the top cliff. I wouldn't make a trip just for this trail but I would definitely recommend it if you happen to already be in the area.

We’ve been visiting some more distant, out of the way trails to avoid the crowds, but we thought today was our opportunity to try something a little closer to home. We headed to Mount Washington on a cloudy, drizzly weekday, expecting to see only a few other cars. But it seems everyone decided to get a jump on the holiday weekend, so cars were already spilling onto the road, and we quickly decided to adopt Plan B and headed for the Middle Fork Road.

We wound up at Oxbow Lake. There were two other cars when we arrived, five when we left, and we only ran into two other groups on the wide, mellow trail. Our biggest concern was social distancing from all the slugs – watch your step!

Since we finished the stroll with time to spare before we needed to head home, we went to Garfield Ledges, which we’ve been meaning to visit since the new trail opened. Ran into three other groups and had no trouble giving everyone plenty of space. Our biggest concern was social distancing from the friendly mosquito pictured below. We enjoyed a lovely view from the ledge, despite the drizzle. 

Might not have been the adventure we set out for, but we're happy with how the day turned out. In total, we watched more people arrive at Mount Washington and *start* their hikes (while we sat in our car picking a Plan B) than we saw people total on the four miles of trail we actually hiked.

A few closing notes about some trails we did not visit:

We passed the Mailbox and the Mailbox Connector trails on our way to Oxbow – both were totally full and spilling over. If you're planning to visit over Memorial Day weekend, I would strongly consider heading elsewhere.

When we reached the Garfield Ledge trailhead, the dirt road beyond (to Dingford Creek) was closed for maintenance, but it had been reopened by the time we came back. I don’t know how long it was closed, but it isn’t anymore.

The Middle Fork Road has washed out about two miles before the Middle Fork Campground. There are signs up and a road block. Hopefully road crews can get out to fix it soon so we have access to these wonderful hikes again!

For being such a quick jaunt in the woods, this one has such a beautiful payout at the end!

Road was fine, it only gets a bit rough with large pot holes in a few spots right after the Middle Fork Campground, before and after the bridge to the trailhead.

Trail had one pretty slick, muddy spot but it was easily passable. Otherwise, its a great trail!