A lot of people.Cutting pretty close on parking thought around noon

Amazing trail!

But I wanted ro recognized these two amazing ladies and their puppy that took upon themselves to pick up garbage from the trail! 

Easy snowshoe.

Here are somethings to share. Parking was INSANE. We purposefully tried to go at a time when we thought it would be less busy, but there were easily 100 cars parked and a line even to drive up the road. Once parked, we were overwhelmed by the crowd. It was like Disneyland. Hundreds of people. Loud people. People with sleds, snowshoes, skis, snowmobiles, picnics, doing photoshoots, playing some form of volleyball or something. It felt like spring break. It was so tightly packed that we had to wait for our turn on the trail. It was overwhelming. You will not need snowshoes or spikes. The trail is so pat down it is like walking on cement.

We did the trail around the pond, and to be frank, it was too much for me. I couldn't handle the noise and crowds. So we stepped off the pond trail and did the Gold Creek Trail. That was lovely. It was quiet and peaceful. We had two dogs with us who had an amazing time. 

The snow park pass is something like $25. Back-of-the-napkin math said that this site alone brought it in at the very least $5,000 that single day. Yet there was not a single trash can. Not one. I was a bit frustrated. There were diapers, dog bags, and empty take-out containers. Yes, I am all for pack it in, pack it out, but when you are making $5,000 in one day, at one location, spring for a trash can. This is how we make places sustainable, by providing SIMPLE infrastructure. There was a pile of trash that was several feet high. I get it, take your trash out is fantastic. But this level of not preparing for large crowds was truly disappointing and leaves me questioning basic planning and decision-making by this team. Pretty negative experience. 

Stats: 

Total Mileage: About 6

Total Time: About 2

Dogs I Saw: MANY

Snacks: Very bad peanut butter sandwich.

So fun. The road is closed, but not by much and that didn’t stop us of the hordes of others at that easy little loop. We bought microspikes and felt like superhero’s with them :)) but there weee many people without them and may kids! Great fun, especially as a beginner hike in the snow!

This is a scenic trail with almost no elevation that is easy enough to be done with small children with minimal preparation - the trail is well-packed and you don't really need any special gear. There are also a few small hills for beginner level sledding fun. 

Do be aware about the parking and road though: it requires sno-park permit now and cops do come to check it; the road can get very icy and I saw lighter sedans completely stuck; it's also a super popular trail and parking around 9-10am will be tight, parking around noon will be impossible.