We were going to go snowshoeing at Rat Trap Pass, but FS Road 23 was totally impassable due to snow so we opted to hike the near-by Beaver Lake trail instead. There's still a lot of snow Darrington, so hiking/snowshoeing options in the area were limited.
The Mountain Loop Highway is plowed and snow free from Darrington all the way to Beaver Lake trail head. The parking area at the trail head has about 8 inches of snow and you could get stuck if you don't have 4 wheel drive. Even with 4WD I was slipping and sliding all over the place while I was parking the car. If you don't have 4WD I recommend parking on the side of the Mountain Loop Highway and staying out of the parking area all together because you'll get stuck if you go in there right now.
The trail is flat and easy to follow, but there are a lot of blow downs that you have to crawl over or under. The middle span of the bridge across Beaver Lake has been destroyed by a tree that fell on it. If you're careful you can still get across by crawling over the tree and the destroyed portion of the bridge, but it's kind of sketchy. I wouldn't take a dog or a small child across that bridge.
Eventhough the trail is covered in snow. I would not recommend skis or snowshoes (but I did see ski and snowshoe tracks). The trail is tromped down good enough that you can walk around in regular boots with no trouble, and I would think having skis or snowshoes on your feet would make it more difficult to negotiate all of the blowdowns that you will encounter on this trail. I had poles and mikrospikes with me, but did not use them.
There are some good views of Mt. Pugh and Mt. Forgotten from the trail, and there's even a good view of White Chuck Mountain from the trailhead. There's also lots of places where you can go off the trail and access the Sauk River. I suspect that this trail is more fun with the snow than it is in the summer. It looks like the kind of place that would be mosquito city without the snow and ice.
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