We had a lovely walk with two family groups today (5 kids under 12, 2 dogs, and 4 adults), who are living with each other during a trans-continental relocation. We were thrilled to introduce our friends to the beauty of the PNW and wanted to start them off easy - so Oxbow Loop was perfect! 

The roads in were great and there were spots in the parking lot. I always suggest parking in the second Oxbow Loop parking lot, as the walk to the main trailhead is very pretty and offers a beautiful view of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. 

The big leaf maples have dropped a lot of their leaves, but the downed leaves were pretty yellows, turning brown. There was some fungus growing on decomposing logs, which is always fun for kids to examine. 

No problems on the trail. There is one log to step over, but it is low and most people should be able to manage. All in all, we had a great walk and are so happy our friends have joined us here in Snoqualmie! 

I revisited a favorite hike in order to see if I could do it without a crutch, on my fused right foot.  Just in case, I carried a crutch with me so that I could get back to the trailhead if the foot was too painful to walk on without a crutch.  As it turned out, the foot was very unhappy but I carried the crutch rather than using it.  It was a perfect pandemic hike:  I saw no hikers at all and no cars were parked at the upper or lower lots for the Oxbow Loop.  A link to my photos is below.  I would've taken more photos but the mosquitoes were fierce and ever present.  It was great to be back on this trail for its two scenic miles.

I took this short, relatively flat loop trail after being disappointed by the CCC Blowout Trail and was pleasantly surprised by this little hike!  Stunning views of the mountains, Oxbow Lake, and the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River.  Lots of benches carved out of trees where you can sit and enjoy the views, and a short off-shoot of the trail leads you down to the Snoqualmie River.  Very peaceful!  The only downside was the bugs...  definitely bring bug spray, the trail stays near the water the whole time and where there's water there's mosquitos.

Lots of mosquitos! Trail was well maintained. Flat most of the way. Elderly mother, 76, really enjoyed it. Side trail to river was a little rocky but was manageable for her. 

My son and I ventured up the Middle Fork past the Dingford gate about three miles to find a spot to sample water for a citizen science project. The road is a combination of easy bike riding and brain-rattling river rock where the river has washed over the road.

The river was absolutely gorgeous where we stopped and in the water itself there weren't too many bugs. We had lunch and rode back to Dingford.

Our second stop was at the Oxbow Lake. We made the mistake of parking at the northern trailhead and walked the short trail to the southern trailhead. There's a great view of the river, but we hardly had eyes for anything other than the BILLIONS OF TINY TOADS hopping across the trail. At first I thought they were spiders and that wasn't cool, but seeing the toads was pretty neat.

The trail drops quickly, but not far to the river if you walk clockwise. The access to the river is nice, but there's no real beach. Just lots of rocks and easy walking into the water. Definitely worth a walk, but look out for the mosquitos. They were horrendous.

DEET up or maybe wait until the toads are big enough to eat the bugs.