This area seems like such a hidden gem! The road to Cathedral Falls was narrow and had deep ruts, but I was able to make it just fine (but slowly) with my compact car. There is very limited parking, so I feel like in the Summer, you would want to arrive early to secure a spot. When I arrived, there was no one else there. As stated in the trail description, there are no toilets at the trailhead.
The weather wasn't too bad - it wasn't predicted to rain much or at all, but most of the hike I was in the clouds. I saw there was a view point spot, but due to the clouds, I didn't see a thing. Overall, the trail was in great shape (compared to the road!) and there were a few stream crossings, so I recommend waterproof boots or shoes. I also appreciated my poles for balance. It looks like someone had maintained the trail recently as there were downed trees that looked freshly cut. I'm not sure how heavily the falls gush, but it seemed light to me. There wasn't snow on the trail until I climbed upwards on Goat Creek Trail, but even then it was intermittent and very easy to walk on, until about 1.5 ish miles from the Vanson Peak intersection and then the snow got to be about a foot deep. I turned around about 3/4 of a mile from the intersection, and I'm glad I did as it started to snow on my return trip. When I returned to the trailhead, I encountered more people (which was a surprise) and a snow covered car. Total mileage was 10.12 miles and 2,520 feet of elevation gain.
This seems like such a great area to explore, and I can't wait for Summer to explore more of Goat Creek Trail and Tumwater Mountain trail.
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