Nice St. Paddy's Day hike, with old growth green. The waterfalls are roaring, but perhaps a bit less than in other sringtimes. Several blow-downs across the trail, mostly in the last third of the trail. Only a couple required veering off the trail, the rest could be ducked under, or clambered over. As noted in the USFS posting, it's probably safer to avoid using the foot-log over the ravine near the end of the trail. At the end of the trail, I saw the orange flag and tape on the far side the river, possibly marking the abandonded trail to Tupso Pass. Since I was alone, I didn't ford the river to check it out.

Located between Arlington and Darrington, Boulder River is one ot the best low elevation river hikes in the state. It has waterfalls, a roaring river, and huge trees. This Winter it can be hiked in January with no snow at all. This was a Mountaineer trip. We had only 8 hikers, a nice small number for a group trip. The start was a little later than I'm used to, at almost 10:30, but plenty early to get parking spots this day. The lot is not large and finding a space in the Summer can be a problem. It had been 8 years since my last trip here and I was well overdue for a return. The way starts off on an old road with a steep drop off. Before long the river can be heard then seen below. I was not expecting much water over the various falls but was pleasantly surprised by the torrents. The second falls is the best and it was in great form. The falls are not along the river but are over the far wall of the gorge down to the river. The canyon along here is both deep and narrow, amplifying the sound. The gorge also made logging difficult and the old growth trees alone would make this a ""must do"" hike. Since this is an easy hike, we were in no hurry. We took many breaks to admire the river, falls, and trees. This is also a virtual rain forest. Moss hangs from the trees and green blankets everything. The trail is in good shape overall. There are a number of long log bridges where the top was cut flat. These are very slick and some care must be exercised. Only one had a hand rail. There is mud but much less than I remember from my last trip here. At four miles we reached the end of the trail at the river. There is plastic tape on each side marking what is likely the continuation of the trail on the other side. At one time this trail continued on to Tupso Pass, Goat Flats, and Three Fingers. Since the road to the pass went in there is no longer any reason to ford the river and continue on. I would like to come back sometime and see what is left of the old trail. The day was over cast but remained dry. We had a nice lunch at the trail end before heading back. Several groups left ahead of us but we saw nobody on the way in. On the way out the crowds picked up. I guess 10:30 isn't a late start for most hikers in January. The trail is 8 miles round trip and has about 1000' of elevation gain with ups and downs. This was a very nice day for a low elevation hike in the woods. The company was good and the trail was as beautiful as I remembered. Photos have been posted at http://www.kuresman.com. Go to ""Trips-2003"" on the left margin.

An exceptionally fine day for a hike up the easy and peaceful Boulder River trail. The Northwest Forest Pass sign has been molested and thrown in a ditch which appears to be the norm for this trail. This trailhead needs a box toilet badly, but I shutter to think what the vandals would do to it (see the recent Mount Pilchuck Report). The trail is in fine shape all the way to its end. No snow, no mud, no standing water. The work WTA has done over the years has really helped inprove the trail a lot. Also the Darrington crew blasted out the large rock that slid across the trail sometime last spring. One problem I will report is that the railing on the last, high foot-log near the end of the trail is completely gone, so walk carefully or avoid it if you suffer from vertigo. The fall would not be a pleasant one. We went all the way to the end of the trail and found a sunny patch on a mossy log to sit and enjoy an early lunch. We saw no one until the way out when we encountered many dogs and their pet people. Each one was well behaved, and a pleasure to meet. Sadly I must report that there are also no trees of significance laying across the trail. Boulder River is the traditional location for WTA's New Year's EVE/crosscut sawing party every year. Unless we get some really bad wind storms between now and then, we'll have to go someplace else.

First hike with all my children! Oldest son is 19, daughter is 16 & youngest son 9. Easy drive, good directions. Road to trailhead was ok, not too many potholes, ie. you don't need a SUV. We left trailhead @ 10:45, only 5-6 cars there. Very much a ""rain forest hike"". Lots of moss laden trees, spectacular 5-6' thru old growth trees that easily soar over 200'. The falls were truly Gods paintbrush in action! Was not sure what ""water on trail"" meant, now I know! We crossed at least 20-25 streams that do require some caution. My girl slipped & had wet clothes to deal with. My 9 yr. old really enjoyed figuring the route thru each stream, & it was fun to watch his confidence grow at each crossing. Some slippery log bridges, some spots on trail a little overgrown. No bugs!! Very good 1st hike to take younger kids on. Not a hard hike, but defintely more challenging than Cape Alava or Lake Valhalla hikes my older son & I went on for Boy Scout outings. Finished @ 4:45PM Enjoy, I certainly did!

great weekend to hike . two of the falls where great. had lunch there on sunday it was nice and sunny. but the last 1/2 to 1 mile was a little muddy in places . bugs came out later in the evening but where not that bad yet .the old grown was wonderfull to see and the hike was great. the falls where worth seeing.