OMG what a beautiful winter wonderland!
The trail is fully snow-covered, but because of the trees, not as much as on the road. I would say up to 8 inches of snow, but in some places it was almost bare. I started on the trail at 11am and someone had gone about 1/4 of the way around the lake, but the rest of the way, I was trailblazing. This definitely did not require snowshoes; boots are fine, and I could keep a good pace. I had microspikes on, but this did not help because snow kept clumping in the spikes, and there was such a gentle grade that they were not needed. Gaiters would have been nice, but I forgot mine and was fine. The trail overlooks the beautiful, nearly frozen lake most of the loop. The scenery is spectacular.
No tree blowdowns on the trail.
The parking area is big enough for 8 cars or so and there is a pit toilet bathroom that is open.
Road: There was about 8-12 inches of snow on the ground. An all wheel drive vehicle should be fine, and I saw some sedans with tire chains on. The road had not been plowed, but enough cars had gone through that there were good tracks to follow, nearly down to the pavement. The parking areas had virgin snow, and my Subaru struggled a little when I got started, but a little bit of back and forth and turning my wheels, and I was on my way!
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