Got to the trailhead around noon and there were less than 10 cars parked on the side of the road near the trailhead. The road was a bit bumpy and since it was below freezing temps we drove slow. 

The trail had snow on it pretty much all the way to the top with a few bare parts. There was a section that had a bunch of water running down and it wasn't too bad. The snow was not deep, but enough that it made it a bit slippery in areas. Highly recommend bringing micro spikes or yaktrax for your hiking shoes, in addition to hiking poles if you have them.

Near the top it got much more slippery and the last part was a bit of a scramble. There are 2 paths, the one to the left has cables to hold on to, but bc it's metal it is very cold and would be good to have gloves. The right side is doable to climb up too... not sure which way is easier. We went up on the right and down on the left with the cables. 

The view at the top is amazing! We could see Rainier and it was beautiful with all the snow covered mountains/trees. 

This is such a fun hike with a great summit and views.  There was a light dusting of snow toward the top making it slightly more slippery than average wet conditions.  There are a few sections where water is running down the trail as well as a few muddy sections, but easy to avoid or go around.  We had some fast moving and wispy clouds with Mt. Rainier going in and out of view.  It was really fun.  I continue to be amazed at how different mountain experiences can be depending on weather and time of year.  You can do the same hike 5 times with 5 totally different experiences!  

After climbing Catherine, if you feel like you can do more, maybe consider going up Silver Peak next door!

GETTING THERE:

About 5 miles up dirt Forest Road 9070 the trailhead to Mt. Catherine is on the right side of the road and has a brown forest service marker #1348 (see photo below).  The road to this point is excellent with the exception of one rocky section maybe a quarter mile before the trailhead.  This section was REALLY bad earlier in the season, but it has definitely had some work.  It should be noted that on the way down there was some running water over the road there, which is likely what messed it up before.  At least for now it is good.  I was in a VW Jetta.  No problems at all.

Got to the trailhead around 10:30am and found no other cars parked!  A couple other cars drove by as we were getting ready to start, I guessed they were headed to silver peak.

I don't consider myself an expert at offroad driving, but the road to the trail was pretty good!  Just a few rough and rocky patches about 0.3 miles before the trailhead, but I felt like you could drive nearly any car over them if you went slow enough.  Hopefully the road conditions hold after the rain/snow comes!

Trail was in good shape.  This was a nice short but reasonably steep hike.  We saw a few chipmunks but nothing else.  Rainier was hazy but still nice, as were the other peaks.

As people mention in previous reviews, the road must have been graded recently. I drive a Ford Fusion and had absolutely no issues getting to the trailhead. Actually, I would say, it's one of the best gravel roads out there! 

The trail is well maintained, the views are excellent, it's a great option for a short hike with big views.

Yay, not sure when it happened but the hair-pin turn on forest road FR-9070 that services these two hike (and the PCT) has been fixed.  There are still a couple of challenge sections beyond the turn (one where a big tree obviously came down but has been cleared), but all smaller SUV type vehicles and sedans should be OK while the road is still dry.  Unless you have big beefy tires I still don't recommend driving much beyond the trail for Mount Catherine as there are some fair sized rocks, but there is a decent amount of roadside parking before you reach that section.  We thought we were in for a long road walk so really happy to find this out when we drove up this morning.