We had a great fall hike to Skookum Falls today. Three cars were parked at the FS Rd 73 trailhead when we pulled in just before 10:00. It was 39 degrees with mostly sunny skies, the perfect day for a fall hike.  The road now has serious potholes in the short drive from Hwy 410 to the TH.  If you want a clean car forget about driving here.  The vault toilet had TP but the door is jammed and there is no slide lock.  The trail is super saturated soil, mostly well drained.  A little fall color is hanging on in big leaf maples, all the vine maple have dropped their leaves. Fungi and fall mushrooms were sprouting everywhere.  On our return we passed 2 folks out hunting Chanterelle mushrooms.  I also recognized oyster mushrooms rooms.  We only had 2 small trees to step over and we tossed downed branches off the trail as we walked.  After the super dry summer water is now flowing again at Skookum Falls.  It was nice to see new wooden bridges over swampy areas, thanks WTA & other trail work volunteers!  We found a side path down to a bluff in the sun with great rivers views so sat down and enjoyed a great lunch rest break off the main trail. To extend our hike we walked over the White River Bridge on our return and hiked through the deserted Dalles Campground.  It was fun to pop out to the bluff edge at the numerous riverside campgrounds for a different, beautiful view of the White River. Trail traffic was really light and all trail users could step off to let other pass. When we walked back to our vehicles just before 2:00 we had 7 miles logged.  Another fantastic day out in nature with friends.

Through-hiked the Skookum Flats Trail from the north to the south trailhead, with a short side trip up to Skookum Falls.

Road Conditions. Both trailheads required a short, but very potholed drive from the main road. Only the north trailhead had a restroom, but there was a restroom at the "airport" near the south trailhead.

Trail Conditions. Easy, well-maintained trail, the only obstacle was one larger (but easy to get across) blowdown just south of Skookum Falls. The short spur trail to get a view of the falls on the other hand was steep/rocky/rooty, but also well-travelled.

Highlights. Mosses and mushrooms.

Crowds. Encountered only one other party on the trail, both parking lots were almost empty.

This was a lovely mostly flat ramble along a river and in old growth forest! The trail was in great shape- one of the foot bridges looked brand new, so I suspect a work party had been here recently.

We were in a Honda fit, which has very low clearance. There were some good sized potholes, but we made it to the trailhead fine with going slowly and picking our path carefully. It’s only a short drive on the unpaved section.

The road in was easy enough in our AWD car, only about half a mile of gravel road, decent amount of potholes to be wary of for lower vehicles.

Very shaded trail helped keep the heat at bay which was great. The ‘short but steep’ trail to the falls was a bit more than expected, as it felt like truly scampering up and through a few fallen trees and rocks. Not the easiest, but not the worst. The photos are of the trail and the view of what was left of the falls here in mid July.

Fun little hike, easy to get through and very serene

Today’s WTA work party was all about cutting logs. We managed to clear several logs from the trail. This is a nice shady trail with sounds and views of the river.
There is a toilet at the trailhead but no TP. The potholes are quite bad but easy to navigate if you go slow.