Hiking Ashland Lakes trail today outside Verlot was amazing... drizzle and a very rough access road could not deter us (even though my sister tried to bail at 6AM)! There are several great trails up this way but be warned that you need a high-clearance vehicle to access all the trailheads due to huge potholes and washouts. Drive slowly. Really rough 5 mile drive off main road, though completely worth it. Trails are very well- maintained and the work crews who keep the boardwalks navigable deserve a huge shout out! Thank you for all the effort to keep this beautiful trail open. Can someone work on the access road?? 

People are not exaggerating about the condition of the road to this trailhead. I would not attempt this without a high clearance vehicle. Ridiculous amount and size of potholes along with tons of jagged rocks. Trail itself is in great condition. One downed tree that does not block the trail.

Never been up to Ashland Lakes so gave it a whirl. As reported the road is in poor condition- think skiing moguls with your vehicle but instead of bumps it's holes.  Trailhead is nice though and well maintained. Reports of slips and falls not exaggerated- we ran into a gentleman who had just fell and cut his arm pretty good even though the weather was warm and trail mostly dry. I wore softer soled shoes with more give (New Balance hikers) and had great traction even on damp rocks and mossy, damp boardwalk. Hike was enjoyable (as any hike is) with enough to see and hear to keep it interesting. Ran into a mouse dead-center of the trail and it would not move. At upper Ashland the bugs became an issue- swarms of gnats and some mosquitoes so bring the "Off". Partway down the access road is a gravel pit used for target practice so be prepared to hear gunshots possibly.

Sooooo... I saw low clearance cars (a Jetta and a Corolla) at the trailhead - I salute your driving skills. This road is a mine field of crater sized potholes, rock fields and washouts... There's one part that should be on the map as a lake... (yes... it really does pretty much go all of the way across the road - on the left there, that's about a foot or two wide at most) It's definitely one of the worst I've driven on - that said our Crosstrek didn't scrape bottom at all, though there were a few times I expected it. If you take a low clearance car, you better be very confident... 

The parking area only has about 6 spots - we took the last spot when we got there and it appeared that everyone else had camped and was heading out as we went in. It was very, very quiet. We didn't have to share the lakes with anyone else - just us and the dragonflies for lunch. 

The trail is rocky and rooty, but it's in very good shape all the way to Upper Ashland. Going down to Lower Ashland it gets a little rougher - there's a few fairly easily navigated blowdowns. Watch your step on the boardwalks..there's some slippery spots. We also climbed a little bit of the Bald Mt. trail - it is far less maintained, but clearly delineated and easily followed as far as we went - there were some blowdowns on it though and some sketchy sections of partially destroyed/rotted boardwalk. 

The kalmia is finished blooming, but check out the buckbean in Upper Ashland. Crazy fringed white flowers, growing in the water. 

Wanted to head up to Mt Pilchuck, but after checking trail reports mentioning snow at the top still, we decided on this one instead. The road gets pretty rough immediately after you turn off the Mountain Loop Highway. I figured we would for sure need a high clearance vehicle as other trail reports have mentioned but there were indeed a few tiny vehicles at the trailhead like a Fiat 500 and Honda Accord. The trail is in good condition except for the south side of Ashland lake, the trail is overgrown and muddy in places. The short detour to Beaver Plant Lake is well worth it and would likely be a great camping spot. Most of the Ashland Lakes Trail is on wooden planks which makes for a fun walk through the woods.