We arrived at the Taylor Mountain Forest trailhead at about 9 am. There were about 8 cars at the TH. There were a few parking spots left in the first lot and plenty of room in the trailer lot. The vault toilet is locked. The Issaquah - Hobart Road was bare, wet pavement. The TH has compact snow and ice from 0" to 2" deep. Didn't have trouble driving in the TH with AWD and snow tires.

We planned a loop of the Holder Ridge trail, the Holder Knob Trail, Road K, Road I and Road A. We found a mix of snow, ice and bare patches on the Holder Ridge Trail and Road A below 900 ft elev. Above 900 feet it might be cold enough that the melt/freeze cycle isn't happening. The snow was about 4" deep. Some of us used spikes out of caution. But boots with a good tread worked well and didn't collect ice balls when the morning got warmer. About 1/2 mile out we found the first of several down trees on Holder Ridge and Holder Knob trails. We managed to get over or under all of them without too much trouble. We cleared the small downs that we could move. We walked Road K north along the swamp. After about 1/4 mile we came to small creek running pretty fast and deeper than our boots. Along the west edge of the road we found some rocks we could hop with some effort. We kept going north to the intersection with Road I. There were footprints on Road K to Holder Creek, but none on Road I. It was pretty steep and there were a few down trees. We got to Road A and found out why people hadn't come this way. Road A is signed closed due to instability (aka landslide?). The road surface looked very uneven and covered with brush. So we went back down Road I and took Road K to the lower portion of Road A. We walked Road A west back to the TH. Got back about 1:15. Covered about 7 miles and 950 gain. We saw several others hiking, usually with dogs that were all really nice.

There are no Rainier views from Holder Knob trail or Road A to holder knob. There are no Any views on this trail. At least not through the summer foliage. Green tunnel all the way.

Some muddy spots but otherwise trail is in good condition.  Lots of birds in the understory.  

First time at Taylor Mountain. Very pleasant, only muddy in a couple places and trails were well maintained with no blowdowns. We did a 5 mile/850 foot loop using the Holder Ridge to Holder Knob then Homestead Trail to Road K to Road E to Road A. On this mid-day Friday we heard a couple hikers behind us who must have turned off, and saw one mountain biker, but no other people. There were 4 or so horse trailers in the lot but we didn't see the horses.  Trails and roads in good shape, lots of bleeding heart in bloom.

Were pleasantly surprised to find 2 picnic tables along the way, one on Holder Knob called "Horse Picnic Area" and the other on a sunny knob where the Homestead Trail becomes Road K. There are a couple of apparent fruit trees and a brick or two but otherwise no clear evidence of a homestead. 

Also at the intersection of Road K and Road E is a rock with the words The Farm boldly etched in. I'd be interested in what that meant along with any info on if there was really a homestead etc. 

Lovely walk out on Road A to the Holder Knob loop, which we took including taking the slight turn off to what is signed as the "Horse Picnic Area" to enjoy slight view and a snack at the picnic bench. When we got back to where the Holder Knob trail met Road A,  we retraced slightly back up the Holder Knob trail so we could take the Holder Ridge trail back to the parking lot instead of Road A.

The trail was well maintained but plenty of horse droppings so definitely had to watch our steps. We saw a bald eagle and heard rustling in the woods but didn't otherwise see much wild life. However, we could definitely hear the nearby shooting range for most of the way back. Trail wasn't very crowded but we did run into several groups of both hikers and equestrians. Plenty of space to stay out of each other's way generally. The forest had a lot of variety of trees but otherwise the trail did not offer a lot in the way of amazing views. Next time I'd probably try to take the Holder Creek trail near the parking lot to enjoy walking by the water, but this was a perfectly pleasant walk in the woods.