A quiet trail for an outing. The only boot prints in and out were mine. The sound of the river faded a little and became louder as the trail wound through the forest of mostly cedar, Douglas fir and maples. The trail is in very good condition with a little snow, slush and mud here and there, mostly as you get nearer Black Oak Creek. No blow-downs.
I stopped at the overlook with the best view of the river and mountains. You need to be wary of getting to close to the edge of the bank because you can't see how far back it is undercut. From there I continued on to the footbridge at Black Oak Creek. The descent to the creek was where the most snow was, and that was only about three inches not slippery. No need for extra traction the whole trail.
The Mountain Loop Highway had some snow and slush starting about a half mile before the turn off onto NF-22. The bridge over the Sauk more snow and you would want to slow down before going across. There was snow on most of FR-22 to the trailhead. The only section that could be a challenge for rear wheel drive would be somewhat steep areas. There lots of potholes-the worst part is going past the boat launch. I would recommend bypassing the road and going through the parking lot. The restrooms at the boat launch are open.
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