Friday morning at 5:30 am and only 1 car in the parking lot. They were just a bunch of young teens that wanted to watch the sunrise at a ledge not to far from the beginning of the trail. We were all by ourselves at the top. We ate brunch and just enjoyed the peacefulness for about an hour!!! No dogs barking, no young teens playing music, no complaining kids just NATURE YAY!. It was so perfect. The trail was pretty good. Starts off steep. The middle is easy going. Then it gets steep at the top. Overall it was 2 hours up because we kept stopping to take pictures. Could have made it in an hour to an hour and a half. The trip down was about an hour or so. Passed lots of people coming up. Parking lot was packed. Early bird gets the worm! We ate at North bend bar and grill afterwards to support the local economy. $14 nachos with bbq shredded pork that was huge and I ate it all rawr! Such a perfect day I hope yours goes just as well. Happy trails!!!

Our first destination was Little Si! I heard Mount Si is a bit extreme and we were hiking with kids and a dog, so we thought it'd be smarter to just do the smaller one. Little Si is like the "little brother" to Mount Si, but it was a great hike! The beginning is a struggle! I worked a good sweat 10 minutes into the hike because it's so steep! It gets better though. About 10 minutes from the top, the incline goes a little higher as well, which works you out! It's awesome though. The view from the top, not the best I've seen so far, but it still felt super rewarding. After Little Si, we drove about 10-15 minutes to Snoqualmie Falls since we were already in the area and it wasn't too late yet. There were a bunch of people; expected, since it's such a beautiful waterfall. The "hike" down to the waterfall is a little less than a mile, but boy, going back up is a drag because it's mostly downhill. There isn't a specific trail to get to the waterfall so we had to climb down the ledge where people can oversee the waterfall. It's not too dangerous but be careful anyways. Also, the water felt amazing.

Got to the trailhead at 5:45 a.m., and was the first car there. Beautiful day - sunny and warm. Luckily had a Discover Pass from last fall that was still good! Trail is in good shape, no major issues to report, besides some small areas that will maybe need to be repaired next season because of erosion. There are also a few sections where people have taken their own routes (and others have followed), which has created more boot wear than necessary - perhaps some additional trail marking would help stop this. The trail is very pretty - I was honestly not expecting much, but the middle section that skirts the towering rock cliffs is beautiful. The trail starts somewhat steeply, levels out for awhile, then ascends somewhat steeply at the end, which is a nice setup. The views at the top are also very nice; most reviews and photos tout the views toward the highway/North Bend, but I actually liked the views on the opposite side of the summit even better. There are many nice rocky ledges to sit and enjoy. The early morning is the best overall time for photos from the summit. I'm young but out of shape, and I made it to the top in around an hour, including some photo-taking and exploring of side trails. After a rest at the top, I was back at the parking lot around 40 minutes later. I only passed two small groups on the way back, and noticed one group of climbers off the main trail. Once I was almost back at the parking lot, I went by four or five groups who were just starting, and the small lot was maybe half full. Overall, one of the nicer short hikes I've done within 30 minutes of Seattle. Highly recommended. I'll probably be back next year to try out the Boulder Garden Loop!

Got to the trailhead at around 7:30 am. There were a few cars in the lot, but it wasn't too busy - maybe 1/3 full. First section is steep-ish, but pretty short. You can still hear the freeway for the first 10 minutes or so. Met two small groups of hikers coming down. Middle section of the trail leveled out to create a very pleasant walk on a well-maintained trail, with impressive-looking trees and foliage. The trail was hard to find in a few places, mostly when it crossed wide patches of cleared ground, but I took my best guess at the direction and was able to find it again pretty quickly. Last section of the trail is a bit of a climb! I'm a newbie hiker, so I had to stop and rest pretty frequently. Probably not the easiest hike to do if you have young children, but by myself I made it just fine. The view from the summit, looking out over the valley, is absolutely lovely, and well worth the climb! I imagine it would be even better in spring or fall, when the trees don't block so much of the view. Overall, it took me about an hour and fifteen minutes to get up, and a bit less than an hour to get back down. I met a lot of hikers coming up as I came back down, and the parking lot was pretty much full. (10:00 am). Loved the hike, and will be doing it again in the future!