We drove to about 0.5 miles before reaching the trailhead before we decided that our low clearance car wasn't going to cut it. We reversed it back down 0.2 miles and found a safe place to park on the shoulder. High clearance car is needed with the snow and ice on the road. We didn't mind walking the extra mileage to the trailhead because it warmed us up!

Maybe I missed it, but I never saw a sign for the trailhead. There is an obvious trailhead that starts at the parking area on the right side. Once you walk a couple hundred feet on that trail, there is a sign on the left confirming Mt Catherine. 

The trail can feel a little steep at times, but nothing horrible. It's a very short trail. The last 0.5 miles feel the steepest.

The entire trail is snow covered, starting at a few inches and then about a foot once you near the summit. We wore gaiters and spikes c2c. 

Views from the summit are just amazing! It was a crystal clear day with blue skies. We made some hot cider and stared at Mt Rainier for about half an hour before heading down. 

The trail is pretty icy in some spots. Would highly recommend spikes and poles.

A gorgeous day and spectacular hike with great views from the top and along the way. 

We came around 9:30am, and there were two more cars that came right around that time. On the way back after 11am there were about 5 cars at the trailhead and 2 more bit further up. Met few other people on the way down. The road had some snow close to the trailhead, be careful especially when driving downhill.

The trail was mostly snow covered, packed snow, melted and frozen. It would be mostly doable without microspikes but I put mine on for better grip early on and I think everyone else had some on as well. 

The views were great, not a cloud in the sky. It felt quite warm on the sun on the top. 

Altogether 2.91 miles, 1,141 ft total ascent, and about 1:32 moving time. Beautiful short hike with snow and amazing views.

Great little hike today with a friend. The trail is snow covered from the start, with a few short melted out rocky spots early, then packed snow the rest of the way. Only the end is very steep, but spikes were helpful all the way. We had a few glimpses of surrounding peaks when we first reached the ridge, then it clouded over for the rest of the way to the summit. There's a reasonably good-sized area at the top that we shared with another couple. We waited around for about twenty minutes until it cleared up enough to snap a few good pictures. The trail was busy on the way down at 1:00 PM. Perfect for a quick and easily reached destination. The road was rough, but just potholes with a little snow cover the last quarter mile. There's plenty of space to park along the road.

The road to the trail is Crosstrekable with some potholes and snow with car tracks in it as you get closer to the trailhead. The trail is 90% packed snow with some rocky areas lower. Misrospikes were very helpful. This was an awesome hike! Saw less than 10 people and the views were stunning. The summit is easier to get up to than come down from. Poles were helpful coming down. Awe-inspiring! A perfect hike.

Road was in fine conditions, just a bit of intermittent potholes and washboarding. The trail was equal parts clear and packed snow/slush/ice. Trek poles and/or microspikes recommended since the packed snow is slick in places