More of an easy stroll than a hike. The fall color is getting nice now.  This place is best enjoyed and a cloudy/misty day!  We saw 3 river otters swimming in the lake. Too far away for a photo.

Beautiful, easy trail with lots of fungi.

This is a short an easy trail with beautiful views. We enjoyed the falling leaves, views of the mountains, river and lake. Both parking lots pretty full on a Saturday afternoon (around 1 PM) and there were a few people on the trail although not enough to bother us.

I haven't been down the middle fork valley for a while and not having much time I decided to check on this sweet little hike before the chores of the day called.  The middle fork road is never the same twice and driving in today there were a couple of note-worthy points.  There has been a land slide on the road embankment on the one way system before you reach the trail head for Mailbox.  They have plastic sheeting up but those funny looking blobs lying in the road are actually fairly large rocks, so watch for those.  Somewhere around the six mile mark there is a thin veil of water across the road (blocked drain?) on a corner, so if temps are below freezing (not to far away) take care.  And finally if your the first one down the road in the morning always be aware that large tree limbs have a habit of coming down without much wind encouragement this time of year.

The trail itself is in great shape and just a handful of people on it today.   The big leaf maples are glowing yellow in the fall sunshine.  I didn't see any critters, but it was very peaceful watching the leaves fluttering down.  I took the side trail to the river which is a little more energetic after our recent rains.  If you keep going past the first river access point a little boot trail pops you out further down at a nice area with a small sandy beach.  A great spot to stay and dream a while.  It's a lovely time of year to check this trail out and I had fun driving as far down as Camp Brown after my hike.

Perfect morning hike with the sunrise, they must have just redone the trails because they are excellent condition. This would be great to do with small children.