Paradise was beautiful and crowded on Saturday. We arrived in the afternoon with the hope that some of the early crowds would have dissipated by then. Upon getting there it took 15-20 minutes to find parking and even then we were still in the overflow lot. There were cars everywhere, even parked along the main Paradise road.
The trail itself is in great condition, with only a few wet/muddy spots and about a three foot stretch of snow to walk across. We went counter-clockwise, stopping at Myrtle Falls first, then up through Golden Gate before joining back up with Skyline and taking the High Skyline trail route.
The Fall colors are beautiful, especially in the lower sections of trail. There was a black bear foraging on the hillside next to the switchbacks along the Golden Gate segment of trail, a marmot higher up along Skyline, and a mountain goat in the fields along the trail as we were heading back down to the parking lot.
Temperatures changed depending on elevation. I was almost too hot in a tank top and shorts down at Golden Gate but was glad I had brought layers (and wished I had gloves) by the time we were at the high point of the Skyline Trail. Definitely pack extra clothing.
It was crowded, to say the least. Previously, I've always hiked this route in the Fall on weekdays and it's safe to say I'll be returning to that tradition after this weekend. We saw groups of all sizes, sometimes with as many as 20 people. LNT and trail etiquette was at an all time low. We were physically pushed by the group behind us (going in the same direction) while we were stopped to the side to let a group coming in the opposite direction pass, saw far too many people thinking it was okay to ignore the NP signs and wander off-trail through the meadows, and even saw some people who apparently thought it was okay to go at least a quarter mile off into the meadows to chase a panicked mountain goat up a scree slope.
If you're not already familiar, I highly recommend reading up on Leave No Trace at LNT.org before hitting the trails.
That being said, it was a beautiful day, but it's worth considering finding less popular trails for the weekends and visiting the popular ones on weekdays if possible. It's certainly what I would have done if my schedule allowed.
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