My boyfriend and I got to the trailhead around 10:30. The parking lot wasn’t too full, but was getting there.
First we took the trail to the waterfall. It didn’t take very long. Pretty easy trail. Then we started up Mount Storm King.
The switchbacks on this trail are no joke, but doable. Once you reach the end of the maintained trail, you can climb the ropes. I highly recommend making your way to the very top, the view is worth it. Coming down is a little trickier, but doable. In my opinion, it was easier to use the ropes and go down backwards because it was so steep. On the way back it was a little more crowded and when we got back to the parking lot around 2:30, it was significantly busier. The trail was well maintained and is a beautiful hike.

  Finally got to do this hike. The last two times we were in the Crescent Lake area, it poured and we felt that the rope section of the hike would be dicey. After doing the hike today, I am glad we waited for a dry day for the hike. The hike starts with a steady incline with multiple switchbacks. We saw many people coming down as we headed up the trail around noon on a Friday afternoon but did not pass any other people going up as we went up.

   As others have mentioned, the rope section after the maintained trail is not overly steep but the loose gravel can make footing tenuous for the timid. We had brought gloves for this section but did not use them. Highly recommend just looking at the ground in front of you as you ascend (or descend) for those who have a fear of heights. This mantra helped some others that we passed make it up the ropes.

   Views from the top were gorgeous. Lots of camp robbers hanging around ready to grab your food when you unpack your lunch. Just watch out since they can get rather aggressive. We lucked out and met only 2 other groups while we were at the top and the rain held off until we got back to the parking lot. So glad we finally made this hike. Will try again on a sunny day!  

Wow, this was a doozie. The good: the trail was surprisingly less strenuous than I anticipated. Though steep, the incline was very steady. The trail was well maintained up to the end before the ropes section.

The bad: given how many people do this trail I was very surprised how sketchy the first rope section is. The issue is not the steepness but rather the fact it is a rocky outcropping with lots of loose gravel and poor footholds that drops off the side of a cliff. I made it up the first rope section, but felt very unsafe, decided no hike is worth my life, and turned around. Going down this section feels a lot worse than going up. For what it’s worth, the folks I ran into on my way down mentioned that this first section is the worst of it.

Overall, the hike was still very pretty, with some nice views of lake crescent even without reaching the summit. I’ve never turned around without finishing a hike before so that felt like a bummer, but I had a great time nonetheless!

Decently short hike up Storm King but woah is it a workout! Definite incline the entire way with some pretty steep sections. Poles really helped up until the ropes section. Beautiful, sunny day out on the trail today! The ropes section past the maintained trail felt sturdy and secure although it was steep and I wouldn’t recommend if you’re afraid of heights. Trail was clear the whole way with no snow. I’d recommend adding Marymere Falls to the end of the hike as a cool down ☺️

Happy hiking!!

Lake Crescent was looking beautiful today, so my husband and I took our pass at hiking this one we've wanted to do for a while. The trail is very steep but not too long. The unmaintained section was too steep for our liking, but still thought the trek up was worth it.