What a wonderful hike! There are a LOT of switchbacks, but honestly it didn't seem too bad. After the trail turns north there is still some snow. We didn't need Yaktrax but poles were helpful. The views from the top were stellar. A peakfinder app is very helpful! Lots of pretty wildflowers too. Most of the hike is exposed and hot, so be sure to bring lots of water. This hike really gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

The road was a bit rough, but in my opinion it's one of the better trailhead roads. There are random potholes all along the way, but if you go slowly it shouldn't be a problem. The last push to the parking area is pretty rough though, lots of sharp rocks. My Subaru did just fine and there were sedans in the lot, but as others have said you can park before that last stretch and walk up. 

Got to the trailhead around 6am and was the only person there. The road up is actually in really good condition with few potholes up until the last quarter mile or so to the trailhead. There are spots to park prior to that if you don't have a high clearance vehicle. The switchbacks gain elevation steadily and I imagine on a clear day you'd have amazing views the whole way up. Even though it was foggy and visibility was poor it was still a beautiful hike through all of the wildflowers. Once you reach the top of the switchbacks you start to hit some snow fields. I made it to the summit although in hindsight it was not very safe and I probably should have turned around once I hit the snow. There were a few short sketchy sections in particular along the ridge on the way to the top. The path through those sections was narrow and the snow had partially melted around the trail and some large rocks forming bridges. I tried to avoid one of these sections on the way down by walking along the gravel above it (bad idea, its a lot steeper than it appears in the pics) and ended up slipping since the gravel gave way underneath me, which could have been very very bad if I was closer to the edge. Just need to be very very careful or ideally wait a few more weeks for it to melt out.

The road up to the trailhead is in good condition until near the top, then there are quite a bit of potholes, we ended up parking down the road in a pullout. Arrived to the trailhead around 2pm, parking lot was half full. Very foggy/misty day so there were no views, but there were lots of lovely wildflowers and the foliage was very green. The uphill switchbacks are unrelenting but not too bad since the hike up is short. Saw quite a few other hikers and dogs. Near the top after the end of the switchbacks there are some snowy spots. Did not get to the true summit as it was quite snowy and slippery, snow should be gone in a few weeks. Saw two marmots on the way down.

Great time on Sauk. Wild flowers starting to bloom, great views. Once you get to the to and round the other side, SO much snow. Pup was happy! Wasn't expecting it but loved it! Road is like it always is, a little bumpy in places. My Mazda 2 did just fine. Please dot take the short cuts straight up, it leads to erosion, and this trail needs to last for FOREVER! its the best.

Stunning right from the parking lot and just gets better, but not quite thawed out yet. Yes, you can get to the summit, but there are several sections in between with slushy snow and a 1000 ft slide that wasn't worth it for us. We had spikes, poles, and hike all winter long, but we and several other groups all assessed this as unsafe.It is still avalanche season. We also attempted the lake and got within a few switchbacks about 500 ft above it before turning back. I would give the peak a couple more weeks at least and the lake several to thaw out a bit more and be safer. Lots of marmots out too :-D 

Video is of the worst bits of the drive.  

Road/Parking: The road was bad and definitely not recommended for a sedan if you like your car, but not too bad for an SUV with ~8.7 inches of clearance. There were some big holes, but it was all doable slowly, that said it was long and quite steep in sections. Parking at 8:30 only had a few cars, but by the time we left, a little after noon, it was overflowing and more people were still coming (it had also gone from misty to mostly clear by then). The road wasn't real narrow, but often not wide enough for two way traffic so we had to back up several times on the way down to let people pass. There is a th pit toilet and it wasn't too bad.

Trail: We started out with a moody morning with mist swirling around us, but a clear view to the stunning river below. The trail had lots of flowers, especially towards the top. The tread could use some work in some places. Lots of erosion cutting away at the trail from cutting switchbacks near the start and towards the top a few spots are crumbly and very narrow. Nothing crazy, but not somewhere I would take someone with height issues or unsteady feet. A couple of the corners require what some might consider mini scrambles or big steps up rocks. There is no shade, except for on a couple of the corners about halfway up. 

No snow until you round the backside of the ridge, right by the junction with the lake trail. 

Lake: It was cloudy when we got up there, so we decided to attempt the lake first. The first snow section was slushy and steep but we could see the trail on the other side. The first 1/2 mile or so was intermittent snow, until we reached the gully, then it got fairly constant and there were some huge tree wells to navigate. On one steep section one person from out group punched through into a hidden one up to their thighs. Eventually we hit some switchbacks that were impossible to navigate with the steep snow and turned back. We could see clean switchback below us, but we couldn't quite get to it. 

Peak: We didn't get very far beyond the lake split. By the time we got back from our lake attempt the clouds had opened a bit. We took in the views as we walked towards the peak, but soon found a section that was on a pretty good angle that continued all the way down to the lake. We didn't trust the slushy snow so we called it. Since the trail wraps around the mountain you get all the vies either way, just not at once. 

Stats: With lots of route finding and snow shenanigans we clocked 4.6 miles, 1550 ft elevation gain/loss, 2.75 hours moving, 3.5 total. We are moderate/fast hikers who hike weekly.