Being an 'ol boy from Florida with little snow experience, this hike was both gorgeous and exhausting. Before beginning, I would recommend the following: trekking poles, WP boots & gaiters, warm/wicking clothing, lots of water and tools for navigation.

The roads to the parking lot were wet with some snow but drivable. We parked at the Franklin Falls lot thinking the bridge to Denny Creek would be too icy but this was not the case. The trail starts out muddy with some snow patches (no need for microspikes). We approached the first "landmark" by passing under the I-90 bridge which felt very apocalyptic with the grey skies and snow. Continuing forward, we passed through several creeks but all had strategically placed rocks. Even if you missed a rock, you likely would not get too wet since the water is low (given you are not wearing tennis shoes).

As someone posted earlier, once crossing the first larger creek, the snow really begins. Fortunately, the snow was fairly compact the entire way from previous hikers/dogs. I would highly advise microspikes at this point.We saw a few hikers without them and they kept slipping in some of the areas. This could be a little dangerous in a few places where there's a steep slope on one side of the trail.

About halfway through the hike, the light snow began falling and visibility dropped to 100ft or so. If the trail had not been so compact and visible, we may have had to pull out the GPS. The visibility slowly began to drop until we reached the lake.

Approaching the final few sets of switchbacks near the pass, the trail became significantly more narrow with one side being a steep slope and the opposite side a deceiving 2-3ft of snow (at some places 3-4ft). This made it difficult (but doable) to pass one another along the trail.

We reached the pass with about 20-30ft of visibility where we could only see a handful of trees instilling the feeling of a summit (yes, I know it was a pass, not a summit). If you're exhausted, don't fret. The final portion of the hike to the lake is a 150ft descent and the views are breathtaking. 

Few tips once reaching Melakwa lake. First, if the visibility is poor, give about 20-30min as the clouds pass through. Second, be careful around the lake. Portions have iced over and are now covered with snow. You may step on the fragile ice thinking it's still land. Third, keep moving around. The temp at the lake is cold especially with the wind chill. I wish I had a thermometer to see how cold it really was. I usually run somewhat hot with my jacket in 35 degrees and I freezing up there. So it makes me feel like it could have been in the 20's or lower.

After completing Denny Creek trail (up to the Denny Creek slides), we felt the need to do a little more, so around 1:15pm we parked in the half full lot for Franklin Falls and headed that direction.  The lot is about 0.5 miles beyond the turn off to the Franklin Falls/ Denny Creek trail heads, on forest service road 58.  The parking area has a garbage can and privy, along with a map of the trails.  We walked the well-signed connector to the Franklin Falls trailhead.  The trail itself is muddy in a few places, but overall in good condition.  The first falls (which have an overlook) and the Denny Camp Falls (which are visible where forest road 58 butts up against the trail) were both beautiful.  The trail carved into the rocks that lead down to Franklin Falls was slick, but not unmanageable.  The fall color in the little canyon was brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows.  To make the trail a loop, we returned via the Wagon Road trail, and noted 10 markers along the path.  The book Hiking Washington's History by Judith Bentley clarified what most of the numbers were in reference to (since most of the numbers didn't look to be pointing out ruts!).  We returned to the vehicle and continued east along forest road 58, which appears to have quite a history behind it (once again referencing Hiking Washington's History).  A mile and a half up forest road 58, just before crossing under I-90, we stopped at the old stone wall (likely a remnant from an old road that went through the area) on the left to check out Fall into the Wall Falls, which was impressive as much for the waterfall as it was for the narrow canyon that follows.  All in all a fantastic sunny fall day in the mountains!

The pup's report: some mud, but nothing a couple paw clean off towels couldn't handle.  The trail had running water, so lots of opportunities for drinking.  Overall, another trail that was easy on the paws.

Looking for a little fresh air we headed up I-90. Denny Creek was our destination but then Franklin Falls came up somehow. The directions are nearly the same so our directions were set. Once off the interstate and onto FS road 58 the snow began. There is only compact snow and ice suitable for most any car. We either misread the road sign or an old sign is still present because we drove up FS 58 for almost two miles. The going got pretty rough and I would not recommend it. We stopped underneath where I-90 crosses over the falls (this we discovered later when we actually hiked to the falls). Back down the snowy road to the Denny Creek Trail turnout we found the Franklin Falls trail head. Within the first hundred yards there were several creekside rocks and pic-nic spots which had crashing waters just inches away. On a sunny summer day I could have been contented with a beer and baguette right there. This comfortable, easy to follow trail winds through intermittent old growth, occasional remnants of the past, and alongside a sometimes babbling and other times crashing creek. Icy in places and snowy throughout, we were happy to have our micro-spikes. When we descended to the main falls we were very happy to have some traction for our shoes. The waterfall's bowl was draped in icicles and shroud in mist generated ice formations in all kinds of fantastical shapes. As we headed back a quick left turn headed us back on the Wagon Wheel Trail. We noted it's beginning at our parking lot so chose it for a neat little loop trail. There were occasional spots with downed trees and a few areas where we needed to pay attention to route finding. Our wise is was a quiet ramble through the woods. In several spots it crosses the old Snoqualmie Pass highway. And in several other spots it obvious that once this was the wagon road across the pass (no thanks!). A fun loop for all ages. One half hour to half a day.

The beautifully constructed trail with its many steps and railings to Franklin Falls was in excellent condition. There were many people of all ages enjoying the trail today. We returned to the TH via the Historical Wagon Road which had a few muddy sections, but not enough to warrant a check! The roar of the freeway is distracting at times, but it didn't keep us from enjoying the creek, the falls and the many varieties of 'shrooms along the trail for 4 hours!

We managed to spend 2 1/2 hours on this short loop hike of 2 miles. We took the Franklin Falls Trail to the falls and returned via the Wagon Road Trail which had a nice variety of fungi! Each trail had one small blowdown, but each was easily navigated. The noise of I-90 is somewhat distracting at the falls, but the beauty of the area makes up for the noise! We only saw 2 other hikers.