We arrived on Sunday at 9:30 and the lot was about half full; it was almost full when we left around 12:30. About half the trail is running water right now. The lake itself is great with a nice boardwalk around.

I forget how much the character of a trail changes while walking with little legs. The weather looked favorable so we stayed on the wetter side and it ended up being wet on the way down. Always pack a rain jacket in spring, there were more than a few hikers wearing shorts and cotton shirts which looked a bit chilly to me. It took us about 2 and half hours to make it to the lake with the 4 year walking the majority of the trail. My 7 year old didn’t enjoy the trail much as he was developing a bit of a cold and had ran a 5k the day before. There are trilliums and some spring flowers blooming and fun nurse logs to play on along the trail to keep up attention during the continuous uphill. The trail is snow free but there are lots of slippery rocks, roots, and big steps to contend with for little ones. We managed to get some lunch eaten at the lake before it really opened up. Watch out for aggressive mallards, they were tenacious in their attempts to seize sandwiches. Beautiful challenging trail for kids with lots of other hikers and kids enjoying a Mother’s Day jaunt. There is a pretty, swampy, meadow full of skunk cabbage that is getting trampled by off trail hikers taking pictures. Please stay on the trail so everyone can enjoy the scenery before turning the meadows into mud pits.

Lake 22 was full, so I went to Heather Lake as a backup plan.  Glad I did!  Honestly, it's even more beautiful than Lake 22.  Especially because there are three large waterfalls in the distance from all the melting snow. 

The road to the trailhead was clear and there was plenty of parking at 2pm on a Saturday.

Trail itself had a few minor logs and root/rock sections.

Trail has lots of rocks and roots and few fallen trees and there was an old bridge that needs overhaul and often confused where the exact trail was but overall it was manageable and lake at the top was just gorgeous with beautiful views..true PNW.

If youre a hiker with bad knees or ankle this is a difficult trail! So many rocks and roots the majority of the hike i spent looking down to make sure I wasnt going to twist an ankle. Some mud, some downed trees and some bridges in need of work but all worth it for the stunning views