Lovely but chilly afternoon walk to the falls ~ lots of water on the trail and a bit of ice forming on the rocks near the falls, so def watch your step! Accidentally took the Wagon Road Trail from the parking lot and it was a nice way to make a loop out of the trail. Glad I finally made it out to this gem! :)

My wife and I went to Denny Creek and Franklin Falls Trailhead to check out the new parking lot. Now there are three main parking lots and two handicapped parking lots. We hiked to Franklin Falls. The water was running high at the waterfall and it was spectacular.

Seeing that this Friday was the only day with decent weather for a week I decided to check out the new parking lot at Denny Creek and Franklin Falls Trailhead. I foolishly followed the directions given by Google Maps and missed Exit 47. Google Maps directed me to make a U-turn at Exit 52 and park my car on I-90 westbound and bushwhack my way down the steep hillside to the trailhead! (See photo #2) WTA Pro Tip says “Save a copy of our directions before you leave! App-based driving directions aren't always accurate and data connections may be unreliable as you drive to the trailhead.” I should have heeded this advice. I found Apple Maps provides the correct directions.

After making a U-turn at Exit 52 and taking Forest Road 58, we arrived at the old main parking lot at 10:45 on Friday morning. My wife needed to use the restroom but the restrooms were only in the new parking lot, so we drove to the new parking lot. The new restrooms were clean and stocked with a lot of toilet paper. There were only about a dozen cars in these large parking lots that could accommodate 170 cars.

We started hiking at 11 am. We took the stairs down from the parking lot and took a downhill trail to the old restrooms and walked to the Franklin Falls Trailhead. The trail was in good condition except there was a place near Franklin Falls where the trail was covered with running water.

We arrived at Franklin Falls around 11:45 am. The water was running high at the waterfall and it was spectacular. We took photos and videos and left the waterfall around noon. On the way back we took the Wagon Road Trail. There was no one else on the trail and there were a few places where the trail was muddy or covered with water. There was a fallen tree blocking the trail and we had to go under the tree. (See photo #3)

We returned to our car around 12:40 pm and had lunch on a rock. There was only one picnic table in the parking lot and it was occupied. There should be more picnic tables. It was a nice short hike on a cloudy but dry day. I can't wait to see the waterfall when it's frozen.

I updated Open Street Map (OSM) based on my survey, so your favorite hiking app will reflect the changes when the map is updated. (See photo #4)

Our GPS track is in the link below.

I decided to take our dog out for a hike in the snow, since I was skiing a lot this week and he deserved to enjoy the snow a little, too. It worked out great and we both had a lot of fun. Took the Franklin Falls Trail on the way there and broke the Wagon Road Trail on the way back for more adventure.

The NF-5800 road to the summer Franklin Falls trailhead is obviously already closed for the winter, so the cars park near the highway. It was easy to get there from Exit 47 and when we came there just before 10am there were about 18 cars parked by the road. On the way back, lot more cars came but some already left, so it was still pretty easy to find a parking spot by the road. 

The trail was packed snow, some truck drove about 2 miles up the forest road, so it was pretty comfortable. I did put on the micro spikes but it wasn't really necessary. I took the snow shoes but these were also unnecessary because the trail was packed well enough. The Franklin Falls trail was also packed and easy to walk on, I wouldn't even say micro spikes were necessary because the snow was pretty fresh and the trail was in a good condition. One tree fell over the trail and was hanging above, hopefully it will fall all the way soon with no-one under.

We walked down to the falls because it seemed safe enough and took a short break before getting back. 

On the way back, we decided to follow the snowshoe trail to go via Wagon Road Trail, but the snowshoe trail went up to the road eventually so we had to break the trail most of the way back. I put on snowshoes because it would be too much without them.

Breaking the Wagon Road Trail was pretty difficult because the snow was pretty soft but wet, and even with the snowshoes, I was up to the knees and often even deeper in the snow. We got off the trail in a few places so we didn't do the best job breaking it (sometimes we were obviously off the official trail), but we did a reasonable job. It was hard to find the Wagon Road Trail in such a deep snow, there were maybe 3 feet or more of new snow in most places and there were no signs of anyone taking this route after the snow set in. But we managed to get through and were happy to see the road near the parking lot eventually. I almost regretted taking this tougher route back, but it was good practice for both me and my dog. Good exercise, too.

The part along the forest road and the Franklin Falls Trail was pretty fast, but we were pretty slow on the way back due to the deep snow. Altogether it was about 3:19 moving time, but if we took the Franklin Falls Trail back, I think it would be more like 2:30 or so. Total distance on GPS shows as 7.24 miles, probably some extra due to the suboptimal path along the Wagon Road Trail. 

It was beautiful there, a lot of snow, icicles near the waterfall, a beautiful winter hike. Will do again soon. The dog enjoyed the hike tremendously though he had to work hard in the deep snow (and so did I). He likes snow a lot but I think today he had enough. Not too many people, I expected a lot more, just met a few groups of hikers along the way.

Today was a great day for this short hike. I decided to take my dog for a walk and I anticipated that the forest road to the trailhead would still be open, which was the case. Didn't have enough time for a longer hike today.

Important things first. The road towards the parking lot from exit 47 is still open and in a good shape, the tracks are mostly free of ice and snow and I don't think it's necessary to have high clearance. However, on the way back, I went the right way on the one-way road towards the pass, and that was probably not the best decision. Most cars went back the same way they got there instead. The road was OK, though at times the snow in the middle of the road was relatively high. The real problem though was near the exit because the snow plows barricaded the road and while it was possible to swim through the snow, it was difficult. A friendly driver on a truck helped us clear the way a little, but it was barely passable even after that. I have a Forester with 4WD and traction tires, but I could feel the sides touch the snow here and there, not a very enjoyable experience. So, probably a better idea to return the wrong way from the parking lot. There is supposed to be some new snow fall and it started to snow during the hike, so this may change by tomorrow.

Update --- based on the comment below, it seems this is not one-way except the main season. 

Also, while a few 2WD cars got to the parking lot, two of them got stuck in the parking lot and we had to help push them to get to the road. Probably a good time to not come with 2WD cars or bring chains. It's also a good idea to carry a shovel, I had one but ended up not having to use it.

The trail was mostly covered with packed snow, not very slippery. Maybe 5 inches of snow around, maybe a bit more here and there. I put on micro spikes only by the entry to the falls, because I was afraid my dog would pull me and I would slip. Was probably a good idea. 

The falls were beautiful and so was the South Fork Snoqualmie River. 

Took the Wagon Trail to Franklin Falls and then Franklin Falls Trail on the way back. The Franklin Falls offers a few nice views of the river. One fallen tree across the trail, but it was easy to cross (my dog went under and I went over).

There were maybe 10-15 cars on the parking lot and maybe 5 more by the disabled parking by the toilets. Met about 15 people at the falls (no one on the Wagon Trail), and maybe 10 more on the way down on the Franklin Falls Trail. 

Altogether about 58 mins return trip, 2.24 miles, with about 267 feet total ascent, so an easy walk. When they close the road, it will get a much longer hike (maybe 4.5 miles or so), because the road will be closed. What a nice day!

I wanted to take the dog for a walk because we didn't go anywhere yesterday, and I decided to go see Franklin Falls because I never went there before and I didn't have enough time for a longer hike. I am glad I went, it was a nice day, the waterfall is beautiful, and I even got a peek at Denny Mountain along the way. We used Wagon Trail to get to the falls (switching to the Franklin Falls Trail near the falls), and then took the Franklin Falls Trail on the way back, so it was pretty much a loop.

The road is perfect (exit 47 then to the trailhead parking). From the parking, we went up the road and got on the Wagon Road Trail to the right. In about 30 minutes we were at Franklin Falls (a few mins before the falls is the fork with the Franklin Falls Trail). The trail was through a forest, few vies of fall foliage but mostly just forest. I liked the waterfall, though it's right next to the highway pass (it would be much nicer if the highway was not there but I am a frequent user so I can't complain). If it was freezing, the rocks to get down to the waterfall at the end of the trail would probably be a lot more slippery, but today it was completely fine, grip was good no matter what I did. Trail was very well maintained. 

On the way back we took the Franklin Falls Trail. This trail is even in a better shape, almost too good of a shape. I liked the Franklin Falls trail a bit more than Wagon Road, because it was near the South Fork Snoqualmie River, and there were a number of places with nice views of the river. We went down to the river in a few places, too. Just a week ago we went to the Source Lake where the South Fork starts, so it all makes sense :-)

Alogether, it was about an hour, plus about 10 mins walking to the river and around the falls. The GPS shows 2.40 mile (starting/ending with the car), and total ascent of 243 feet. The watch shows higher ascent as usual (444 ft).

A nice trail for walking the dog, the Franklin Falls and the views of the South Fork are great, and the only negative is the proximity of the highway so we could hear cars pretty much all the time. I think we'll come again when there is more snow, though the access road is closed so it'll become a much longer hike then. Should be fun in the winter. Will also see a lot of Denny Mountain while skiing the Alpental.