We rode our bikes from Lower Falls to about a mile before Middle Falls, but there were too many downed trees to carry bikes over. But then we hiked the rest of the way to Upper Falls. Yes there are blowdowns along the way, but not too many and most are easily passable (biggest one is on the final approach to upper). It's an absolutely gorgeous trail, the falls are gushing! There was nobody on the trail Sunday morning and Lower Falls campground had just opened this weekend.

Parked at the lower falls parking. The falls are powerful right now and just a short walk from the parking. The hike from the lower falls to the middle falls requires trail maintenance as there are lots of down trees. Nothing too complex to manage but it did impact our trail enjoyment. We turned around at the middle falls and did not continue to the upper falls due to all the down trees. 

If you enjoy climbing over tons and tons of downed trees, then this is for you. I lost track of how many trees I climbed over, under, or completely around. Couple areas with washout, but nothing too bad. We started at the lower falls trail head and hiked up to Taitnapum Falls. We made the decision to take the road back from Quartz Creek TH, which was the best decision we made all day. If you plan on doing the full deal I’d suggest taking the road back unless you’re a glutton for punishment.

Lots of downed trees on the main road past the lower falls TH.

The Lewis River Trail is so loved to death in the summer that the Forest Service requires parking reservations, but in October we didn't see another person all day.

We started our hike at the Curly Creek Trailhead. We briefly checked out Curly Creek Falls (still dry) and Miller Creek Falls (water falling), before hiking upstream on the Lewis River Trail #31.

NOTE: Curly Creek Trail #31A is designated as wheelchair accessible but the salal is growing into the wide trail tread past the Curly Creek Falls viewpoint, narrowing the accessible tread width and likely blocking wheelchairs from reaching the Miller Creek Falls viewpoint.

Hiking east on the Lewis River Trail, we descended to a crossing of FR 9039 next to the bridge across the Lewis River in about 0.5 mile. After checking out views of the river from the bridge, we continued hiking upstream. The trail roller-coastered along the ridge above the river before descending to cross a couple of dry creeks and then meandering on a bench above the river.

This segment of trail wended through a forest of centuries-old western red-cedar and Douglas-fir trees. Occasional big-leaf maple trees, with fall foliage turned gold, shown like spotlights among the dark conifers. Each big, old tree seemed more venerable than the last but challenging to capture in photos.

The trail ascended a low ridge and followed an abandoned logging road for a short distance before descending to another bench beside the river. Old mossy, decaying stumps testified to some long ago logging of the big trees before Forest Service managers recognized the recreation value of protecting the trail corridor and retaining the big trees.

At 2.3 miles, we reached some campsites along the river bank and found a sunny spot for a lunch break. After lunch, we continued hiking another 0.5 mile to the historic Bolt Camp Shelter and our turnaround point.

We returned the way we came, for a total distance of about 6 miles.