Hiked up the trail, to both viewpoints, and down the road today, in intermittent fog and drizzle with sunbreaks. The hiking trail is in great shape, well maintained, no mud, no obstacles, absolutely no snow on a warm day. I lucked out that the clouds cleared while I was eating lunch at the south viewpoint. I saw perhaps half a dozen other groups, so there was plenty of solitude on the trail (I'm sure it helped that it was Superbowl Sunday).
If you decide to take the road back down, be warned that there is a rock slide blocking the road about 2.5 miles down (measured from the north viewpoint). I was able to scramble over the rocks and continue down, but the slide is all the way across the road. There were also a couple trees down, easily stepped over. The road is definitely less steep, but twice as long as, the hiking trail. The upper section has enough leaf litter along the edge that the surface is softer than usual (easier on the joints), but it gets harder as you go further down.
The gate is locked for the winter, but I arrived just before noon and was able to park along the shoulder of 101. The toilet facilities at the north viewpoint are unlocked (didn't check the south viewpoint).
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