Enticed by reports of few hikers on this trail we were lured during the busy July 4th weekend and handsomely rewarded. During our ~8.5 mile walkabout we encountered zero hikers and only one mountain biker on the Blowout Creek Trail. Totally shocking given how packed all the trailheads were up and down the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rd. The trail had some areas of moderate vegetation encroachment, but the route remained well defined throughout. All the stream and creek crossings were easily passable and served as welcomed opportunities to dip our hats in the cool runoff. We agree with previous posters that the “rushing water of Brawling Creek” was indiscernible from any of the other crossings. (We turned back when the trail encountered the old forest service road.) Thankfully most of the bugs that were previously reported must have vaporized during the great heat wave of 2021. In summary: unpopulated, overgrown at times, lots of narrow creek crossings with trickling waterfalls, not too buggy, salmon berries galore! (As an aside we highly recommend parking in the Oxbow lot and walking the first hundred yards or so of the Oxbow Loop to get a stunning panoramic view of the Middlefork River and surrounding mountain ranges!)

I've never in all my years quit a hike after 10 minutes, but that's exactly what happened this morning. I'm deleting this one from my hike spreadsheet forever (and hopefully my memory). Mostly it was the bugs. Giant, giant mosquitos. All over me (and they don't usually like me). All over my dog, especially around her eyes, like she was some tiny sub-sahran cow. Normally she loves hikes, but within the first minute of this one she was giving me the same face of utter betrayal she normally saves for bath time. The "trail" (road) itself is also incredibly nondescript and ugly, and it has a creepy "Stand By Me" vibe like you're on your way to see a body (or you're the body). Finally the last (and first) insult to injury is the parking situation. They've put cones at the gate so you can't park there, you have to park several hundred feet up the road at Oxbow Loop trailhead. Which is fine, but the shoulder is overgrown and tiny so you have to walk right on the highway, which is scary by yourself nevermind with a dog/kids. Skip this hike, there are plenty of other ones in the area, or in my case I wanted to get far away from those bugs so I went all the way to Talapus and Olallie Lakes (which were amazing!) 

Hiked this one today with the family and pup. Parked at the Oxbow Loop trailhead and walked back down the road roughly .2 miles to the blue gate. Note that the gate is now blocked with cones and there is no parking available, hence the choice to use the Oxbow lot. Trail is in great shape. The first stream crossing on the log isn’t bad. Our 13 and 11 year old had no issues, and our 40lb pup walked across. The second stream crossing was a little tricky. You need to walk across the lower log while holding on to the upper log. Worked for the wife and kids, but I managed to slip and take a knee deep bath. Keep an eye out at that crossing. Rest of trail was fun, no major elevation gains and very clean. The 11 year old must have eaten a pound of salmon berries on the hike. On the trail from 10:30am to 2:30pm with a few breaks and lunch. Clocked in at roughly 7.7 miles and 800’ of gain. Passed a total of 14 people on the trail. Great hike!

SSSHHH... don't tell anyone about this hike! Its now become one of our favorites!

This hike features mild elevation gain, beautiful streams, deep quiet forests, panoramic views across the valley, and some of the most solitude of any hike around North Bend/Snoqualime. Today my daughter and I saw NO ONE else in five hours of hiking. That's a first in fifty plus hikes in this area for me in the last three years.

We did see: a frog, a nest of two birds (one had a red head, sadly we couldn't get any pictures. Can anyone identify it?), black bear scat, wild flowers, and lots of variety of plants such as Coltsfoot, Thimble berry, Salmon berry, nettles, devils club, tons of ferns, salal and lots more. We might recommend wearing long hiking pants as some of the trail is brushy. We got lightly rained on as well but the brief showers were mixed with pleasant and warming sunshine. 

We suggest parking in the Oxbow Loop parking lot just past the blue gate. It had a super clean privy and is just a short .2 mile backtrack walk along the road to the blue gated trailhead. We crossed the always sketchy log bridge at the beginning of the turnoff  and over Blowout Creek easily this time and also the many other stream crossings along the way though caution is always advised as some of the rocks are tippy and slimy slippery.

Arrived at 10 left at 2:30 only car at Oxbow coming and going. The best.

Parked in the Oxbow lot (maybe 100 yards past the locked gate) and had the trail to myself for a good chunk of the morning--I didn't encounter any other hikers, just a few groups of trail runners. Luckily, the forecasted rain mostly didn't materialize, although last night's rain made the brushy parts of the trail wet regardless.

A few of the stream crossings are still a little sketchy and I was very grateful I decided to bring a trekking pole along. Despite that, I still got my feet wet a few times, as the rocks people have put on the streams without log bridges are pretty shaky and after a close call on one of them I decided to just walk through the water. 

I ended up hiking more like 9 miles because there was no signage at what I now assume was the Brawling Creek waterfall, and based on the trail description I expected to find something more noticeable as a stopping point. But after hiking considerably longer than 3.5 miles should take me--partially along another section of old road, which the trail meets as it leaves the brush--I turned around in a clearing and headed back. (On the return journey the small waterfall at Brawling Creek did look more noteworthy. Be smarter than me and use Strava or something if you're worried about missing it!)

Most of the elevation on this hike is gained on the section that goes up the old CCC road. The salmonberries are just starting to ripen and line both sides of the road in abundance--on my way out I filled up a water bottle full of them in maybe 15 minutes of foraging. I saw plenty of thimbleberry buds but no berries. This is also a good season for new Douglas fir tips and there were plenty of those to chew on as I walked, too. 

All in all this was a fun and pleasant hike and I enjoyed the solitude it brought. I didn't bring my dog along this time but it would be a good one for pets and kids.