Once F.S. Rd # 24 along Lake Cushman reopens to Staircase, the Mt Rose Trail will again be accessible to hikers. The trail has been maintained to Horse Camp at M.P. 1.8, elev. 3,050'. Maintenance above Horse Camp will proceed as melting snows allow. The trail moves in and out of the fire zone(caused by the 2006 Bear Gulch II fire)from the trail register (just in) to Horse Camp (just out).

Patchy snow near top of southern leg of loop but trail is easy to follow. Northern leg is snow free. No bugs! Only 5 other hikers on trail when heading down at 2 PM.

I made it to the summit ridge today. Lots of snow up there though and I did not actually get to the summit rock and the view of lake cushman. I'm sure the rock was under many feet of snow. We were probably sitting higher then the summit rock. We turned back and a pointy ridge of windswept snow that had some tree tops sticking out of it. The ridge was too soft to walk on. The left side of the summit loop route was impassable after about 1/2 a mile so we turned back and took the right side of the loop, it was much better with less snow and it's well marked. There were no blow downs on the right side of the loop.

Hiked the summit loop clockwise in misty but refreshing drizzle. Good views from various spots at summit. One blowdown east side of loop about 3800, able to duck under. Small patches of snow here & there, very nice workout trail, bit hard on knees coming down. Stats 6.4 miles RT with 3500 feet gain

Mild winter made for a trail in good condition to Horse Camp at 2.5 miles and 3,010 ft. Patchy snow a few hundred feet above Horse Camp. Took the winter (left) fork. Trail becomes a little rough and harder to follow as we reached the top. Found some snow cover a solid few inches thick before summit. This trail gains 3500 feet in 3.2 miles with 52 major switch backs. Coming down can be hard on the knees. Steeper than Mount Si. Terrain off trail can be dangerous above Horse Camp, especially in snow. Cliffs and vertical drops into deep rock lined creek gullies are near the trail. Route finding in the snow is difficult because summit is forested and you can't see very far. If spring snow arrives consider other trails or do the lower portion to the falls unless you know the summit very well.