We had warm weather and dry trails that were well maintained. The river isn't very high right now, but we did see many people fishing. The road is smooth and paved so anyone can drive out there.

A friend told us they'd seen frogs on this trail, so we went out to look. We didn't see any frogs, but did see some pretty vibrant mushrooms, some leaves starting to turn and had a chance to jump in the river. 

This is a really nice, accessible trail. We saw a few families with kids and some slower hikers enjoying themselves. The loop itself is pretty smooth. If you take the little spur down to the river there are a few rocks in the path to negotiate. There's no real elevation, just a couple of small hills.

If you follow the path that heads downriver, there's a better and less rocky entry point than the first one you see. We appreciated this since some of the rocks in the river were slippery.

There are two trailheads - I like starting at the one by the restrooms because that little trail spur has a nice river overlook and views down to Pulpit and Garfield that the other part of the trail doesn't have.

The lake level is low right now, but there are some postcard perfect viewpoints.

Surprisingly for a holiday weekend afternoon, there weren't a lot of people out here. 

Hey everyone, 

The last hike I did with my malamute puppies was this short trail, and somehow I came home without a skijoring belt which I use for hands free hiking. The only thing I can think might have happened was it slipped off the backseat onto the ground as I was taking off my backpack and I didn't notice it. We were at the trailhead with the restrooms (which are always so clean!)  I'm attaching a photo of 2 of the dogs with my housemate wearing a skijoring belt, plus a photo of a belt. If you happened to find it, I would love to have it back. I need my hands free for poles! cklettke@aol.com

This easy hike is always best on a cloudy day. Yesterday we had an unusual summer rain that dumped 2-3 inches in this watershed. The Middle Fork flow rate increased 10 fold compared to the same time just 24 hours ago!

There are two trailhead parking areas, one of which has a vault toilet.

We ran into a mountains to sound work party at the no-toilet trailhead and they warned us to watch out for tiny frogs.... They weren't kidding! There were hundreds of the tinniest frogs all over the place. We had to be very careful where we stepped as they hopped out of the way. If you have frog fear, do not hike here for at least a while. Mosquitos made an appearance as well but weren't terrible. Other than the work party at the trailhead, we had the trail all to ourselves.

I am hiking all this month to raise funds and awareness for WTA so that the trails can be enjoyed by future generations. If you would like to contribute, any amount helps.
give.wta.org/jenchilada2025

#hikeathon #makeyourmilescount #teamtacosformiles #hikeathon2025 #frogswarm