A very quiet hike. If you want to avoid the crowds this is it!  Wished I had more time that day to hike further.

As previously reported, it does take 30+ min to traverse the 4 miles of very rough road.  Luckily, my friend waited for me at the turn off to pick me up knowing my vehicle would not make it.  

I found it difficult to capture the texture of the road.  But I tried.

As stated before, the road is truly treacherous. We bottomed out twice in our Subaru Outback, and considered turning back at one point. But we did make it, would recommend a higher clearance vehicle for sure. Bathrooms are locked, but there were portapotties at the camp sites , although I didn’t check to see if they were open. Lovely trail, though and peaceful solitude. We saw only a couple other people all day- I think they were camping. The trail condition is ok, some loose and broken parts of the boardwalk, but nothing crazy. It was great to have a quiet hike on Labor Day weekend when other areas were likely very crowded.

Had to move out of state for work. Desperately missed the PNW and needed a long weekend back to recharge. The WTA is a special organization and the community it helps create is unrivaled. The trail descriptions and trip reports are so much more helpful than other platforms. Took advantage of the opportunity to visit home and rented an SUV to hit some trails we couldn't with a sedan when we lived in state. Ashland Lakes was one. Glad we never tried the road with our Civic. It's awful. Even with a high clearance vehicle we still bottomed out. Plan for a 40-45 minute drive after you get off Mountain Loop Highway. The road is also narrow in addition to being rough. Encountering another vehicle requires significant car ballet in some spots. Eventually made it to the trailhead. Only three other vehicles there. As others have reported, the toilet at the trailhead is closed. The trail itself is in great shape. All three lakes were beautiful. Bugs were present but not aggressive. Lunched at Lower Ashland Lake and headed back. Wanted to loop around the other side of Upper Ashland Lake on the way back, but there was not a clear way across the lake outlet. Some logs there but water levels are high. We went back the way we came and tried the trail from the other side of Upper Ashland Lake, but it is clearly not as well maintained and so we turned around. In all, was a gorgeous hike on a perfect PNW day.

The road to the trail was nearly impossible to drive on. Huge potholes and puddles made for a very bumpy ride! The parking lot at Ashland Lake trailhead was full by the time we arrived at 10:30 AM on a cloudy Sunday. Parking was a little tough to find but only because we were in a huge truck (to make it over the mountains and valleys on the road up!)

The trail itself was well maintained and easy to follow. Bugs were out but didn't bother us after applying some bug spray. We stopped at Beaver Plant Lake on the way to Upper Ashland Lake. Beaver lake was prettier than Ashland! It had a nice boardwalk along an edge and a bench too. Very peaceful. Ashland lake also had a board path around it but we could not go all the way around the lake, it was too muddy/washed out.

It was a cold and cloudy day, rained a bit on our way back down. The lakes were pretty but we could not see the mountains surrounding them, sadly. Lots of cool mushrooms, plants, and trees though!

Overall, rough road, but an easy hike!

My daughter and I decided to go on her first overnight backpack trip. I recalled having a great time with my Boy Scout troop about 30+ years ago and always wanted to come back. The road to the trailhead is as reported - TERRIBLE. We were in a mid-size SUV with 8.6 inches of clearance and slightly bottomed out 3 times going as slow as possible. This would be impossible in a Honda Civic or similar vehicle. Seriously, it's bad.

We made the trailhead by about 10 am and were the only car in the lot. The privy at the TH is locked. The insects are swarming although they were mostly gnats and not very bitey. Just all up in your face constantly unless you are moving. The trail is in excellent condition. We made a brief snack stop at Beaver Plant lake which is very pretty and has many good camp spots. Made it to Lower Ashland Lake around mid-day and took the only good campsite. It has 2 tent platforms and a nice camp ring with benches. There are other spots for tents and I would guess you could set up 3-4 more. Another group arrived behind us and decided to turn back to Upper Ashland or Beaver Plant although we didn't see them on our way out the following day.

Bugs were a nuisance but they did let up after a while. All the wood is wet but we still managed to get a fire going which helped. Frogs are very loud and unceasing at night. Also saw 2 garter snakes, 3 pileated woodpeckers, a salamander and possibly some fish jumping in the lake. Evidence of beaver activity is everywhere.

The privy is COMPLETELY FULL, like maybe 6" clearance below the rim. Pretty gross so be warned. We could not bring ourselves to use it but I brought a shovel luckily.

We hiked out in just over an hour to find 2 other cars in the lot. Very carefully made our way back down the road and stopped at Verlot Ranger Station to wash up. Overall a very good daddy daughter hike despite the challenges.