We got to the trailhead around 10AM on a Thursday. No other cars in the lot.

The end of the road was snowy/icy but we made it OK in our Rav4. There are many large potholes on the road to the trailhead that would be hard to navigate in a low vehicle.

The toilet at the trailhead is closed.

The trail was mostly snow free, but had occasional snow coverage that was quite deep. Some of the trail was slippery and my hiking buddy and I both slipped and fell a few times. Poles might have been useful.

Beaver Plant Lake was easily accessible and beautiful in the snow.

At Upper Ashland Lake, the wooden walkway was flooded in several places and many of the planks were broken/bobbing in the water. We made it to campground before we called it quits and turned back with soaked feet.

Overall it was a gorgeous day. Look forward to trying this hike again when the trail conditions are better.

Be cautious on NF 4020 while driving to the trailhead. Snow and ice are present on the road. A tree is down over the roadway as well, but it is possible to drive under if your vehicle isn't too tall. Some packed snow and ice are still covering some section of the trail. Duckboards are still completely submerged at Upper Ashland Lake over deep water, making it impossible to reach Lower Ashland Lake. Part of the upper lake, as well as Beaver Plant Lake are still completely accessible however. You will need to turn around at Upper Ashland Lake as the trail is completely flooded out with very deep water.

Hiked 12/31
Trail is snow free but the duck boards are submerged at the lower Ashland lakes. I turned around here.

apparently they closed the trail early. it was scheduled to close on 5/15 but it was already barricaded off on 5/13.

As others have said, road has a LOT of very deep, nasty pot holes. Also deep snow further up on the road, so would only recommend 4WD and high clearance vehicles only. Parked 0.2mi from trailhead and walked up because of how steep and snowy it got.

Deep snow on basically all parts of the trail, so lots of pot holing. I was very thankful to have poles (friend did fine without them), but we both wish we had gaiters or snowshoes. Dogs did great. Took 4 hours because I was going veryyy slow recovering from a sprained ankle.