A friend and I chose Ingalls Creek for a first-of-the-season overnight.
We arrived at the trailhead in the early afternoon, and easily found a parking spot. The drive to the trailhead is almost entirely paved, fine for any car.
We set off, hoping to find a campsite around 5 miles from the trailhead. Almost immediately, we saw wildflowers in bloom including balsamroot, lupine, and paintbrush. The trail parallels the river, but undulates a bit so you're not always right next to the shore. Sometimes, there are peakaboo views of distant, still snowy peaks. The farther you hike, the more forested it gets and the fewer wildflowers you will see.
Campsites on this trail are abundant. We stopped counting but saw smaller campsites at miles 1.6 and 1.7 and larger campsites at miles 2.3, and 4.2. At least one of these camps was occupied, but if I recall correctly the others were all empty.
We ended up at a site around mile 5.7, right where the map shows a turnoff to the Falls Creek trail. There is no bridge over Ingalls Creek to the Falls Creek trail and, at least in May, the river is impassible (flowing fast and high). Where we camped, there was room for 2-3 separate parties to setup camp.
We had a pleasant night and morning, and then headed back to the trailhead. This trail was a great, low key start to the backpacking season!
Also, a reminder: this is tick country, so make sure your first aid kit includes a pair of tweezers, just in case!
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