Beautiful day and wonderful hike! Hiked to Big Creek Falls, stopping by Otter Falls along the way. Total 10.7 miles. Trail was in great shape - mostly dry. There were a handful of creek crossings, but many were not much more than a trickle. A coupld of the creek crossings requied rock hopping, with the crossing near the cut-off to Otter Falls being the most challenging - although, even that one wasn't too much to worry about. The turn off the main trail to visit Otter Falls was clearly marked and that short trail was in fantasitc shape - kudoes to the crews that fixed that up. The old bridge that crosses the creek at Big Creek Falls also has a large concrete curb, which made for a wonderful spot to sit and eat lunch while enjoying the sights and sounds of the falls. All in all in great hike. I'll go back to this one someday.

The road getting to the trailhead was a bit rough was the paved road ends. I understand why the WTA write up suggests high-clearance vehicles. My Forester had no issues. I did see a few sedans near the trailhead when I left in the afternoon, so it's passable with lower clearance cars, but I'm sure they bottomed out on many of the potholes in the road.

I got to the trailhead at 8:30 a.m. and had no issues finding a parking spot. I left around 1:30 p.m. and there where a few parking spots open, with a line of vehicles parked down the roadway a bit.

The trailhead restroom was clean and fully stocked with TP in the morning and still pretty clean and mostly stocked when I returned in the afternoon.

Started from the trailhead on the Middle Fork side. Snow free until Deer Lake, then patches of snow but didn’t feel like microspikes were needed. Be mindful of higher water levels with the snowmelt. Made it halfway around Deer Lake before hitting my turnaround time and a flooded trail.

Otter Falls was pretty great, well worth the 0.5mi or so detour from the main trail. The signed trail wasn’t marked in Gaia, so watch for the sign. Looks like a fresh trail, or at least recently maintained.

The creek crossings until the wilderness boundary weren’t too bad, no need to get wet. Trail is nice and level.

Starting about 0.75mi from Snoqualmie Lake there were 3 tricky creek crossings with swift water. I didn’t get wet but spent a fair bit of time picking a route I could leap across with my long legs. The first 2 would be a little far for someone shorter to stay dry, at least while the creeks are running high. I could see a simpler route, a couple inches underwater… The third crossing had a lot of options with rocks spread out. One route was marked with cairns, with the water level up I preferred a different route. The cairns were very helpful finding the trail on the other side after going up/downstream looking for a better crossing.

There were a couple large downed trees but all of them had clear routes around them.

And the lake… was beautiful! A couple backpackers at campsites but otherwise serene with calm blue waters. 18.5mi RT, 2700ft elevation gain including the bit out to Deer Lake and detour to Otter Falls.

Arrived at the trailhead at around 10am.  More cars in the parking lot than I was anticipating for a midweek hike but still plenty of room for all.  Last time I did this hike I parked by the Garfield Ledges trailhead which made the hike a bit longer.  This time I drove all the way to the trailhead and was glad I did - there are plenty of large potholes but if you drive strategically you can straddle or avoid most of them and shorten the "road" part of the hike (which is already long enough!).  The bathroom at the trailhead was reasonably clean and stocked with TP.

The trail has plenty of water crossings - definitely passable without poles but they sure make it a lot easier.  I would not classify this as a wildflower hike but I did manage to spot some bunch berry, mountain bluebells, and fairy bells in addition to the plentiful bleeding heart and star-flowered lily-of-the-valley.

The turn off to Otter Falls is now very obvious and the new trail is extremely easy to follow. I really love how the trail switchbacks to the left before you crest the hill so you get peek-a-boo view of the falls through the trees as you approach them!  The new stairs down to Lipsy Lake are also a very cool addition.

Last time I did this hike it was mid-August so I was definitely pleasantly surprised by how much more active Otter Falls is in the spring time.  I also recommend walking the extra half mile (each way) to check out Big Creek Falls if you're up for the extra distance.

10.6 miles, 4 hours 15 minutes, 950 feet elevation gain

Reached TH around 11:30. Last 0.5 miles have a lot of potholes and high clearance vehicle is recommended. You can also park before entering the road that is not maintained and add another mile to the RT.

There were 3 other cars when I reached. Restroom was clean and stocked up with TP. It was raining for most of the time but that didn’t bother me or my puppy.

The trail is in great shape. You might have to cross a few creeks and was able to do it keeping my socks dry. Reached the falls around 1pm and had it to me and my pup alone. My pup enjoyed the falls and took a dip in the catchment area.

Thank you for other reports that suggested going another 0.5 mile up from the diversion for otter falls. Getting another beautiful falls in a close proximity is definitely a bonus. Big creek falls was roaring and we stood there for few mins to enjoy the mist. Started descending to the parking after few mins and reached parking lot at 3:15 pm. Overall I recorded 10 miles and this hike definitely high reward with easy to moderate hike.

My friends and I decided to cancel our South Coast Wilderness backpacking trip due to the rainy forecast and look for day hikes to fill our time. My friends hadn't been to Otter Falls before so it was fun to share a new trail with them. We had a later start and arrived at the TH just after 1pm. The vault toilet was very clean with lots of available tp :)

The trail is an old road that has been reclaimed by nature. Sometimes it is obvious you are hiking on al old road and others it is a lovely soft trail. We had several river crossings that were doable with some rock hoping. Using trekking poles were a big help. The second growth forest is lovely with sooooo much green right now! The moss is especially vibrant especially with the new rainfall.

We hiked past the trail up to Otter Falls and continued on to enjoy the roaring Big Creek Falls at the old bridge. My friends were truly impressed! We stopped for a snack and then ventured back to the Otter Falls trail. A trail crew is cutting in a brand new trail that will be a great addition. We followed the social trails up to the break before you go down to the falls. The trail is almost done with new steps down to Lipsy Lake and the waterfall view. Watch your step as the new step logs are slippy so stay on the fresh soil.

Otter Falls never disappoints especially this time of year with some extra flow! Our hike back was fun with great conversation and a light rainfall beginning. The canopy shielded us from most of the raindrops. Our total hiking time with stops was 5 hours for the 10 mile hike out and back.