The road still had some snow on the road and would be difficult for a lower clearance vehicle to drive through. The trail also had some snow but it was navigable. There were a few spots where we couldn't tell where the planks/boardwalks were under the snow and fell through the drifts to our knees. It was definitely an easier hike-fairly flat with a few hills throughout. 

This road is difficult to travel. There are many very large/deep potholes, one that was about 15-20 feet across. The road is cut by run-off creeks, in some areas 12-18 inches deep and as wide. I turned around at about 4 miles in, when the road narrowed at a creek culvert. Steep slope on one side, soft shoulder on the other, my wheelbase was wider than the "road". Four wheel drive and high clearance can navigate the road easily, but I would not recommend for passenger cars.

Hiked this lake along with Pinnacle and Bear Lakes in the same area.  Trailhead parking is limited.  The road is rough and a high clearance vehicle would make it much easier, but sedans can make it if you are careful.  There are lots of pot holes, puddles and some small washed out areas, all are easily passable.

The trail itself is very nice and not difficult at all...with one exception: there are lots of wooden plans/bridges along the trail which are extremely slippery when wet or icy (they were both when I hiked).  I ended up using micro spikes for a lot of the hike not because of the snow, but because of the slippery wood.  Lots of them can be avoided, but they are there to prevent trail/forest damage and to limit the amount of mud. In some places you don't have a choice and you have to use the wooden planks.  Other than that, the trail is very nice and the lakes are not spectacular in their setting, but are very serene and peaceful.

Total hike took about 3 hours which included some breaks and almost busting my a$$ a few times on the slippery wood planks.

Hiked this yesterday, and as all other reports indicate, the road is rough. Had to take it pretty slowly in a few spots, but our car with FWD and only 6" of clearance still made it to the top.

The trail itself was in good condition, despite 6-8" of rain in the previous 72 hours, but we only made it about half way around lower Ashland lake before we hit a spot where the board walk was submerged in about a foot of water. It was too big a gap to step over, and the water went well past the boardwalk on the inland side.

Rather than going well off trail to get around and maybe pick up the boardwalk again, we elected to turn around. The water level was clearly elevated higher than normal, and I'm assuming it'll go back down, but if you're planning on doing this hike shortly after some major rains, don't be surprised if the boardwalk isn't totally above water.