Lots of trail reports pertaining to this trail, so I will hit the highlights of what we experienced today:
a). Arrived at 10 am to a mostly empty Tipsoo Lake (west side) parking lot. Sunny and 63 degrees.
b). Headed east from the parking lot to take the loop in a clockwise (recommended) route. The trail heading north and east has many snow fields, snow melt creeks, snow bridges, mud and some downed trees to navigate. You can expect that for the first ~2.0 miles or until you arrive Dewey Lake overlook. Highly recommend trekking poles at this time. From there heading west the trail is clear, and then more snow covered trails as you finish up heading north back towards Tipsoo Lake.
c). Too early for lots of wildflowers as the snow melt has just finished in many areas. Avalanche Lillies for sure with a sprinkling of other blooming plants and flowers.
d). Arrived back to a full parking lot at 12:45 pm. The line to the pit toilets was a dozen peeps deep (oh, and locks on the toilet doors are not working). Our total hiking distance was 3.9 miles but of course that will vary based on how many side excursions you take.
Overall a favorite trail of ours and we will be back in two weeks to see the wild flowers.
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