Easy trail. Great view of Russian Butte and Middlefork River on the side trail linking both parking lots. One downed tree on trail.
Arrived at trailhead at 12:30 first lot (5 cars) full second lot 3 cars and plenty more room. Didn’t see that many on the trail so assuming that some of the cars were on other nearby trails. In comparison mailbox peak was packed full of cars.
Great trail for kids and folks with limited range. Some mushrooms 🍄🍄‍🟫 little mud

First off... to whoever operates the weather machine, and who keeps giving us beautiful bluebird weekdays to torment those of us who work 9-5 M-F, then turns on the rain spigot every weekend... please stop it. It's not funny anymore.

Anyway, two friends and a dog decided to sneak in a couple of quick hikes this AM before the rain started, and we got lucky. Despite it being cool and cloudy we didn't get wet. We reached the Pratt Balcony/CCC trail turnoff just after 9am, finding three other cars there. We only saw three other groups of people during the entire hike, two also with dogs. The trail itself was in good condition, damp but only muddy towards the top. However the numerous forks and side trails were confusing, and I recommend having a hiking app open and running so you can stay on-trail. We inadvertently took the right turn partway up the trail, but it was a good thing because the forest in that section was pretty (see pic) and the tread was fairly rock-free. It also added a little bit of distance to an otherwise short hike. We also took that same path on the way down.

Since we were in the area we checked out the Oxbow Loop Trail as well. Since both hikes are so close to each other and each one is short there's no reason not to combine them. Again the trail was damp but easily navigable, and we chose to do it clockwise. It is mostly flat, with a couple of minor ups and downs. There is a small downed tree at one point but it's easily stepped over. We only saw maybe a half-dozen other people even though there were nearly a dozen cars parked at the two lots.

BTW I'm really glad I read up on this trail first, as knowing ahead of time that the lake is an orphaned remnant of the Snoqualmie River from glacial times made it a lot more interesting to look at.

As soon as we returned to our vehicle it began to rain, so at least we timed it well. As for stats:

Pratt Balcony: Round trip distance 2.9 miles, 686 ft elevation gain, one hour and 34 minutes total time (counting goofing off at the viewpoint).

Oxbow Loop Trail: Full loop 2.1 miles, 85 ft cumulative elevation gain/loss, 58 minutes total time (counting a side trip to check out the river).

A nice walk on an excellent trail. No mud, standing water, roots or rocks. Views of the Snoqualmie River, Oxbow Lake, Garfield Mountain and Russian Butte. We did a counter clockwise route from the trailhead that has the restrooms. Lots of mosses, mushrooms and dappled sunshine along the trail. 

This was a beautiful and easy hike that I took with my parents who are older, casual hikers. I needed a short, flat trail that would show off fall foliage for them, and this was perfect.

The parking was a small lot that you pull over on the right for. It wasn't obviously labeled "Oxbow Loop Trail" but it's a pretty visible lot that accommodates around 8 cars by my estimation.

From the lot, there was a short path to take before the loop. On this path, there were already great views of other mountains and rivers.

85% of the hike is an easy path where there are trees covered in orange leaves, moss, and ferns to both the left and right of you, but we never felt lost or in the middle of a forest. Once we were near the lake, we caught glimpses of the lake from the path.

It started raining during the hike, so we didn't spend too much time looking around, and took brief breaks under some bigger trees.

After this, we drove ~5 minutes down the road to also check out the Russian Butte View Day Use Area for 10 minutes.

Overall, I'm really happy with how beautiful the fall views were, and also how easy it was for my parents. We only had to take one break on one small hill, which is great for them, and it took us about 70 minutes to complete. I would definitely go back for a short, flat hike.

A really nice, easy hike loop. Needed a flat, shorter hike for a friend who can’t go far. Bathroom at trailhead! Went around 10:30a on a Friday & there was plenty of parking.