We hiked here on a Thursday and had the trail to ourselves.  One other car was parked near the gate.  The section of trail on the road when you first start the hike had a lot of mosquitos! Surprisingly they were less of a problem once we were on the actual trail.  In many places the bushes on either side of the trail were encroaching on the trail and we wished we had worn pants to protect from scratches.  We made it to the "waterfall" but found it completely dry so continued on a bit farther until we realized that was the one we were aiming for so we turned around.  We had a nice lunch on a log overlooking the valley and peaks to the south.  It was a good, almost flat training hike with full backpacks.

Arrived at about 8:45am on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, and there was only 1 car outside the gate. You could probably fit comfortably 5-6 cars, which was the case when we returned, but we only saw 2 people while hiking, which is incredibly quiet considering how popular the area is. The trail is well-kept, and the elevation gain is minimal. It wasn't intuitive to us where the trail is supposed to "end", and we followed it until it linked up to a logging road, then turned around. According to our devices, we walked a bit over eight miles. There are probably about 7-8 stream crossings, all passable, only about 2 where you really have to put some thought into where your feet go, most you can just walk right through. I'd recommend this hike if you want some solitude, just get there early! 

Hiked this one in decent time.  One thing I did not realize was that it was probably the second bridge combined with the waterfall with the mossy tree across it where we were supposed to stop.  My group kept going, and we were able to pass the additional waterfalls...  Those falls were likely not meant to be crossed.  Save your hiking boots from the creek, just stop after the second bridge.  :)  There are many spots with adorable little American toads and frogs--watch out for them under foot!

We headed out on this trail today, and there was a light layer of snow pretty fast on the road part of the trail heading up to the junction with the CCC trail. By the time we got to the junction, there was about two to three inches of slushy snow most of the rest of the way. It was easy to walk on, and we didn’t use spikes or poles. We were able to cross a a couple of the stream crossings with just poles, but we decided to turn around at one about a mile from this trail description’s end point because the river was deeper, faster, and the bank to get down to it looked a bit slick with the snow. We probably could have made it across okay, but we tend to err on the side of caution, so we turned around. The sun came out when we were walking back, so it had melted much of the snow on the road portion, and the mountains were now on view the whole walk back down. We finished just under 5 miles instead of the full 7. (Instead, we walked down the road and did the Oxbow Loop to get a little more mileage in.) It was still a beautiful, secluded trail—only saw three other people.

Envied all the bikers as we came and left, the road is still in pristine shape. Parked 200 yards past the  Bessemer road starting point at the Oxbow loop trailhead. The spaces for approximately 5 vehicles in front of the Bessemer gate were already taken. 

Always lured to Middlefork or Otter Falls at the end of the road, this was my first hike here. I will come again.

Make sure to turn around occasionally as you make the mile long hike up Bessemer road to the CC trail intersection. Took a left turn across the bridge on the CC trail. The CC trail immediately shrunk to to near single track from the wider Bessemer road. Later, the CC trail would widen back up. 

From the bridge, the trail was soft with rolling bumps and many water crossings. We did go through some sharp pointy plants on the right side of the trail. Managed to draw blood through hiking pants on my partner. Got to use the first aid kit. Only encountered snow from mile 2 to 2.5, starting near the 2nd bridge. We did not need microspikes in the shallow snow. Hiking poles were utilized for a few of the larger water crossings. 

In the last mile before our Brawling Creek lunch spot turnaround, the trees thinned out on the left side and the mountains pop. 

Trail conditions allowed us to maintain 3 mph comfortably. Unless you are a hill loving masochist, this would also make for a great trail run.

Only saw 10 people on a weekend hike less than an hour from Seattle.

We did well, hope yours is better.

Happy trails!