Tough, short hike. Please know basic climbing techniques if you are going on the ropes. A young lady was going down the ropes face first and tumbled in front of me and got hurt. This is not a trail to walk down with a sprained knee or ankle, it is steep. 

The parking lot was full midday on a Monday, but we found parking at a different, smaller trail nearby. The whole area around the lodge was beautiful!

After reading about the hike I was wary of the ropes section but there was no need to fear. The ropes looked to be on the newer side. My thanks to whomever goes up there and ties them off.

 On the steep part on the rocks after the ropes I did use my hands for balance, but it wasn’t bad at all. 
The view was beautiful, of course! There’s a lot packed into that one, relatively short hike. Highly recommend!

Finally got the chance to check out Mount Storm King, and I am very glad that I did! Arrived around 11:30 am on a Tuesday and the Storm King Ranger Station parking was nearly full. I found a spot, used the restroom, and on the way to the car to grab my daypack I was followed by two cars thinking I was about to vacate my spot. (Sorry to disappoint!) It did seem like cars were coming and going pretty often, so drivers did not have to wait too long for a spot.

Trail was pretty crowded until the turnoff for Storm King. I wasn't terribly surprised, but it was more crowded than I expected for a Tuesday. After the turnoff up the Storm King trail, it lessened, but there were still lots of folks hiking without any packs/water/gear. I saw several people in jeans and one in khakis. Honestly, they all seemed to make it so power to them.

As expected, this trail is pretty consistently steep but the periodic peekaboo views of Lake Crescent and the surrounding mountains that get better as you gain elevation are really good motivators. The trail is pretty rooty, and especially towards the top, has lots of loose rock. I slipped twice on the descent even with poles and good shoes. There are a couple of spots towards the beginning that are pretty eroded, as well. 

I ventured past the "End of Maintained Trail" sign to the first ropes section. I did attempt the ropes section but with the amount of loose rock I felt insecure by myself and decided to turn around. Honestly, there's a really amazing view both just before and just after the sign for the end of the trail, so you can still get a pretty decent shot of the view if you aren't comfortable with the ropes. I would have likely done the final part if I wasn't hiking alone, but felt especially confident in my choice to turn around when it started raining shortly after I started my descent.

I feel like I see a lot of social media posts about this trail, so I feel like it's worth mentioning that four other folks who arrived at the ropes section shortly after I had turned around all decided to also turn around. I ran into them later on the descent and they either felt uncomfortable or didn't need that final push to feel good about the hike. This trail is still pretty awesome even without that and I have no regrets, but would absolutely try again if I hike it with others. I just had to follow my own comfort level and trust my judgment of my footing that day.

I decided to check out Marymere Falls before I made my way back to my car, and was glad I did! The trail was more crowded, but the falls are lovely. I saw a couple of folks who turned around before the stairs up to the viewpoint - I think some Olympic National Park Visitors expect it to be an easy trail but there are some stairs and some heights. They aren't too bad, but to anyone not a regular hiker it might be surprising.

I'm glad I visited on a weekday, as I imagine both trails are pretty crowded on weekend. They were busy as they were. Great trip overall. 

We reached the trailhead at about 10:40 AM, made a quick stop at Lake Crescent and walked to Marymere Falls first.It was a beautiful day and the lake colors were gorgeous.
The trail to Mount Storm King is initially flat and then starts climbing. It is a steady uphill climb. There are a couple of view points before the rope section. The ropes seemed to be relatively new and were in good shape. There are about 6 sections in all, and need you to pay close attention uphill and downhill. There were 2-3 patches of ice on the trail and spikes helped. But they had melted by the time we came back down, with rising temperatures and all the footfall.
Views from the top were simply gorgeous and totally worth it.
Restrooms are clean and stocked. The trail had phone signal throughout.

Beautiful view at the top. Steep in portions but not unrelenting like a Mailbox. Little bit of leftover ice this morning near the top, only lasted for a couple minutes of hiking. Ropes seem really secure, although didn’t feel like I really needed to use them. Took a little under an hour to make it up, ran down the trail in just over 30 minutes. The little Marymere falls loop is nice too.