For both trails: road is closed at Asahel Curtis snow park, 1/4 mile from Exit 47. Park there with Sno-park permit or park at the Pratt Lake / Granite mtn trailhead with a NW Forest Pass (this adds about 0.3- 0.4 miles each way).
Walk up the road 2.5 miles to the Franklin Falls / Denny Creek trailhead. The road is plowed 1.5 miles up to the last cabin. Currently no blocking blowdowns on the road.
Franklin Falls trail: 98% compact snow / slush / icy snow covered. I found it 100% runnable in just trail runners, but several people were wearing microspikes. No trees down on the trail.
While there is currently not enough snow on the mountain to cause significant avalanches,, this can change quickly. The river bed just below the Falls is subject to large avalanches. I've seen them 25 ft deep. DO NOT GET CLOSE TO THE FALLS DURING TIMES OF HIGH AVALANCHE DANGER. In that case take pictures from the trail leading down to the falls.
Denny Creek trail: there are 3 trees down within the first 3/4 mile or so, before crossing under I-90. The biggest one is 25 - 30" in diameter and a bit hard to get past. It's about 2 ft off the ground, so your dog will be fine...
The crossing log at the slides (about 1.3 miles from the trailhead) is out, so going further up is difficult. There are warning signs at the trailhead about "entering avalanche terrain". The trail up to the slides is NOT avalanche terrain. Avalanche terrain starts maybe 1/2 mile past the slides. Essentially once you enter open terrain.
Trail is 99% snow covered, but a visible boot path exists. Gaiters (or hiking boots.... I had trail runners) would have been good to have, but snow shoes are not yet necessary.
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