Deer Lake — Monday, May. 6, 2024

Found this to be a quite lovely. After Sol Duc falls the crowds thinned and we only saw two other people on the trail. The grade is a steady but relaxed climb. The trail was very muddy with some areas of running water and there are a lot of rock or wood step ups (more intentional in placement than trail obstructions) and as they were slick required thoughtful feet placement but otherwise no concern. It poured on us most of the way except for toward the higher threshold of elevation when it turned to snow! There is still snow on the trail leading up but it was easily crossable without crampons. We were hoping to walk around the lake a bit further but just past the ranger station sign the snow became more deep than our attire called for so we turned back. The two other ladies we saw reported they went a little further than us but not much before the snow became to challenging (though none of us had proper snow gear so a more prepared person may not have trouble). Per lodge staff reports and trail signage there have been multiple recent cougar and black bear sightings - to be expected especially given the time of year. Overall recommend.