This is a pleasant little trail, suitable for young children, eledery, anyone new to the outdoors. A great little hike to show off to newcomers. And it’s short. A quick little jaunt to get a breath of fresh air. The trail is wide, flat and in excellent conddition. Abundant mushrooms and moss. Don’t skip the the river bank. It’s just beautiful. Rushing water over rocks with views of snow covered peaks. 

While the trail was snow free, the peaks to the west, on the Oxbow Lake loop hike, were snow-covered:  spectacular!  As usual these days, I got a late start, since I prefer to let the air warm up before I start hiking.  The Oxbow Lake loop became a favorite hike of mine back in the days when I was undergoing right leg surgeries and was in search of short hikes with great views that I could do on crutches.  While there were cars at the upper and lower trailheads for this hike, the hikers I encountered all masked up quickly, whenever they ran into me, as I pulled up my mask and stepped off the trail--which is very wide:  perfect for for social distancing.  All dogs were leashed!  The trail was in great shape:  no downed trees.  As long as you stay on the main trail, you are on a wide path covered in gravel--but the gravel has 'melted' into the path.  Without all the gravel on the trail, it would be hard to hike this route due to the very slippery clay up here.  If you step off the trail to get better views of Oxbow Lake, you will quickly learn just how slick is the clay!  Another great day up the Middle Fork!  A link to my many photos is in the full report section.

Driving directions spot on. At the fork in the road and taking the right, end up on a one way street. At the stop sign, go forward into the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River area. First parking area for Oxbow is on the right. Will actually fit 6 cars if they park vertically and not horizontally. A short way up the road is the larger parking lot, also on the right, with pit potty. Potties were open and picked up. 5 cars in the first lot, I was the 2nd in the larger lot. I walked the trail twice, clockwise and counterclockwise clockwise. Both were great. Going clockwise, descend to river level (not steep) and it’s a short 0.3 mi to the river access. Then it does a gradual up to finish the loop (1.2 mi). Kinda rolls, a gentle up and down. Nothing steep. Going counterclockwise is the gentle down and up...then all the elevation gain in one spot. It’s not awful. Great hike for kids or anyone looking to get out for a short walk. One tree over the trail, less than 18 inches in height. Easy step over.

Great walk around the loop. Parking was available at 10am.

I did this hike on a Sunday afternoon. There were only 4-5 groups other than us, and all masked. This was an easy walk around the lake with my 5 year old daughter and recommended for anyone looking for solitude in the forest. This is a gravel trail for most of the way. The road to the trailhead has some sections with potholes but all types of cars should be able to manage with slow driving in those sections.