We booked a Lewis Meadows campsite and started our backpacking trip around 11AM. There were plenty of parking spots available, and no line at the entrance to the park.
Since this year was rich for rains, the forest looks very nice and green. As a drawback to all the rains, it's very muddy. We saw many people hiking in nice shoes and clothes, but it's a bad idea. I enclosed the photo of my pants and shoes after one day of hiking. Also, keep in mind that mud is very slippery, so hiking shoes with good traction are very important.
We hiked to Lewis Meadows (our Strava app calculated it as 12 miles one way), and the views are pretty much the same all the time. So, if you have thoughts to hike longer for better views, I recommend to hike as long as you enjoy it without pushing further in hopes for better views.
There are, probably, 5 campsites at Lewis meadows and many more along the gravel (you can find them by going a little bit further following the sign to the river. There is a good access to the river (for water refill), a restroom, and bear wire.
While we were resting at the campsite, we saw 4 dears peacefully walking and eating at the meadows. All the campsites are surrounded with trees, and nicely shadowed. To be honest, since the trail is shadowed almost all the time, I would save some space in the backpack and leave sunscreen home along with sleep mask and ear plugs. I always have a hard time sleeping in the tent because of noises and lights, but it was very dark and quiet). During the night the temperatures fell down a lot, and it was very cold. I regretted I didn't take a warmer layer and a hat. I was sleeping in a warm sleeping bag fully dressed up including warm jacket, and still it was very cold for me.
It's important to mention that the trail involves some river (stream) crossing. It's not too challenging, and has falling trees that you can use for crossing. However, I would recommend to have water shoes just in case if you don't feel comfortable, or if the trees become too wet and slippery after the rain (we didn't use ours, but maybe you would prefer this option). Hiking poles were very useful in stream crossing.
We read in previous trip reports that there is still snow on the way to the glacier, so we decided not even trying to hike to the glacier.
On our way back (4 hours hike) we counted 30 groups of backpackers hiking towards us. When we were driving from the park at 2pm, we saw soooo many cars at the entrance to the park! I've never seen such a long line to the park! Honestly, I assume people had about 2 hours of waiting time. It might be just because of Memorial Day weekend, but just in case I would recommend you to arrive earlier if possible.
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