Park at the gate as the campground is closed for this year. Parking is very limited. Take the first left once you enter the park and stay to the left to reach the fall trails in about a quarter of a mile.
First take the trail on the right. This leads to to Scenic overview shots of the falls. The second viewing platform is better than the first. The Falls were still flowing nicely in spite of not having a lot of rain recently.
We then return to the trailhead and took the trail on the left. This takes you down a long the Quilcene River. It is a steep decent, bowever it wasn't very muddy or slippery. We passed a couple of families with small children and the small children were having trouble on the switchbacks/stairs. If it had been a little warmer we might have been tempted to stick our feet in the river. Take notice that this is really the only spot you can access the river if you take the canyon trail.
The trail from this point on gets rather narrow and very muddy in places. Spots are also seriously overgrown. Several spots along the trail have very nice views of the river and expecially mini Rapids.
The trail is not especially long , not quite three miles by the time you figure in the walk to and from the locked gate at the start of the hike. However walking back up can be sweat producing if this is one of your first types of the year.
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