This was a great addition to our hike at Lena Lake. The trail is in pretty decent condition in the west side of the river, a few muddy spots but it had been raining for a couple of days. The new bridge is beautiful!! We hiked during the free weekend and noticed a number of dogs on the trail. Note that there are not pets allowed on this trail and they were not marked as service dogs. The east so de of the trail has a number of large trees down, there is now a path around the largest grouping of trees. There is one large cedar that you will need to scramble over. Trilliums are in bloom, we noticed one had been picked. These flowers will die if picked while in bloom. It kills the whole plant and will not return the next year. Please refrain from picking wild flowers in areas like this. ;)

Hike was wonderful today. Someone needs to update the description on this trail; the bridge has been repaired and makes for a great day hike with children. There are a couple trees down across the trail once you cross the bridge, but you can easily navigate around them. The trail is in pretty good condition; there are very few muddy spots.

Great Sunday morning hike!

The Staircase loop was awesome and beautiful also a pretty easy walk. We explored around a little before the hike and found a cool cave and the big cedar. However, we were not fully prepared for the hike out to the end of four creek because there were no real reviews on it! It was a much harder hike with lots of short ups and downs, narrow passages with slippery rocks etc, however, it is 100% doable for even those not in the greatest shape - we definitely are not :-) With a few rests it took us about 3.5 hrs to walk out to the end of 4 creek and back to the bridge over Staircase and finish up at the ranger station for a total of 7ish miles. Also the elevation gain of 150ft is the net gain it does not account for the constant up and down or the fact that the trail was washed out or obstructed and you had to take pretty steep detours - or the trek out to four creek. Total elevation gain on my fitness tracker was over 1500 feet combined for the day. Still not unmanageable but it is pretty fast up and downs that really start to ware you out towards the end. Also the trail was covered in centipedes, which as it turns out are fairly poisonous - glad we did not touch them! Beautiful hike and would recommend it to anyone!

This is a very beautiful hike. Easy, sweet & short. Tons of scenery, clean crisp air, & the therapeutic sound of nature (birds chirping, river running, earth crunching under your boots). They said that the Staircase Rapids bridge is about 2 miles in (although it seemed closer). Once you pass the bridge, there's a "could be" confusing part where you think you'll go to the right (along the river). There is indeed, what looks like an unkept trail this way. As I kept thinking the next steps would lead me to a wider, clearly marked trail, it never let up. Finally following my instincts, I turned back around towards the bridge. Again, once you cross the bridge, GO LEFT. The trail will be clearly marked, and about 30 feet you'll see a sign pointing towards the right to Ranger Station or left to 4 Lakes. If you started at the Staircase Campground/Ranger Station, this sign is where you'll continue to the right. We were met by about 4 or 5 fallen trees. I climbed over them because the space beneath wasn't too promising for me. Continuing along the trail you'll eventually come to a "homemade" bridge made of a fallen tree. Complete with guard rail & tread marks to keep you from slipping, I felt completely safe crossing the second (benign) river. About 6 or 8 minutes from the end, you'll see a short side trail that will lead you to a BREATHTAKING view of the river. It's a very steep cliff that looks as though it could slide in a rainstorm, so please proceed with caution!!! This spot was one of my favorite sites on the whole trail. Great meditating spot. Continuing back to the trail towards the Ranger Station is all downhill. A lovely trail with worthy views.