Spent the night at Flapjack lakes. The trail is mostly clear and very easy to navigate with the exception of the final 1/4 mile. This is where the snow starts, but it is very consolidated and easy to walk on. We used microspikes on our trail runners and had no problems. The trail can be a bit tricky to follow, but should be better now as we added tracks. Just look for the orange markers in the trees and that will keep you going in the right direction. There are a few (maybe 3) trees that are across trail but easily crossed or walked around.

Snow will be there quite awhile as it is very deep in the shaded slope leading up the lakes.

Very quiet and enjoyable overnight spot as we were the only ones around at the lakes and on the trail.

If this is on your list get it early before the crowds show up.

You will hit dangerous deep slushy snow about 3 tenths  of a mile from flapjacks lakes.  It is  stacked up in the right ravine of Donahue creek and is getting ready to do a creek snow bridge collapse. See. photo.   I would wait 2 more weeks to have it   melted out before crossing.  There are 4 or 5 patches of snow covering the trail Starting at Donahue falls area of the trail that are not difficult or dangerous to cross      The slide area before turning  up to Donahue falls.  Has become more dangerous than previous years in the first 10 feet.  see photo   Take your time use trekking poles for balance.    The trail after Madeline falls is burly. It is full of root wads and rocks.   The make shift log ford over the first creek on north fork trail.   Is stable.   The old foot bridge is gone.  Road into parking A lot  of Potholes start after The mount rose trailhead on the gravel road in

I followed boot-prints in the snow for the last half-mile to the lake, so I suppose it's theoretically doable, but let me assure you: you'll be bummed if you try. Patches of slippery, icy snow start around 3k and then, right after the B&W Lakes junction, it gets very deep and slushy. I put on snowshoes at that point and finished the ascent with little difficulty and explored a bit of the lakeside and spit, shaking my head sadly and tsk tsking at the various posthole tracks. Of course, lugging a pair of snowshoes 15 miles is not necessarily the best day-hike experience, but ymmv. I figured I'd give it a go, especially after getting snow-blocked on my last few hikes, and was glad to have made my destination.
Other stuff: quite a few logs to go over/under, but nothing serious. I'm not sure when they finally chopped that huge cedar by the boardwalk section, but it still smells divine. The washed out bridge near the TH has a stable logjam replacement and it does the job (see pic).
Flowers: lots of trillium and yellow violets, a few coltsfoot, but not much else so far.
Wildlife: heard a lot of quail, but only saw one. I didn't get a great look at them, but I also saw a family of elk at Slide Camp on my way out.
Bugs: quite a few buzzing bees and I spied a few mosquitoes, but they aren't biting (yet).
The road: a bit rougher than I'm used to, but they probably just haven't gotten around to regrading it - I can't remember when it happens, but it's sometime in spring (I think?).
The crowds: hiking on major holidays is the best. I saw one pair of backpackers on their way out (presumably from Spike Camp), but otherwise saw no one until I ran into a pair of guys making an ill-advised late afternoon attempt at Flapjack while I was on my way down. Eight more people on the Staircase loop and a couple more in the parking lot, but that's it.

First, an update on the drive. The road is open all the way to the Staircase parking area. The park entrance booth was not staffed, so you just drive on in and display your pass in your vehicle. The potholes are pretty bad on the dirt portion of the road, but with careful driving, it’s all doable. 

As the attached route screenshot shows, I made it almost to Flapjack Lakes, but the snow is insurmountable in the last 1/2 mile or so. At least I was warned several miles in advance by two separate pairs of backpackers, so I wasn’t too disappointed. It was still a beautiful day for a 13-ish-mile round trip. 

There were probably 8-10 significant blowdowns, many of them before the turnoff for the Flapjacks. All were easily climbed over or under, though. I was glad that, anticipating the snow up top, I wore boots, because there were some mud puddles, and a couple of the water crossings got my boots, but not my socks and feet, wet. 

Hiked to Flapjack Lakes from the ONP gate which is closed for the season which means a road walk to the start of the Staircase Rapids loop trail and an extra mile or so. North Fork trail in great shape with a few minor downed trees.  Snow on the Flapjack Lakes trail was spotty until around 3000ft where I put on snow shoes.  Trail corridor is still easy to follow until just after the intersection of Smiths Lake trail.  From there it's pretty straight forward to the lakes with trail still mostly possible to follow.  A few downed trees the whole way but nothing too bad.  No sketchy traverses. It is about a 17 mile roundtrip now so with the shorter days the last few miles were under headlamp.  Totally worth it to check out the lakes and peaks in their winter dress.