Hiked this trail a few times and scenery is great. Easy going trail. Have to cross a creek via a log with handrail. Make sure to check to check out scenery next to river near Ranger station. View is awesome.

My friend Dan and I hiked in to cook a 4 course Christmas Dinner along the Staircase Rapids! (I posted a 4min video highlights link you can find lower on this page) Note: we were very careful to use backpack stoves, to not leave any food particles and we packed out all the dirty dishes, for minimum impact. The last few miles of dirt road have nasty potholes. There were a couple new trees down across the trail. Otherwise, a spectacular way to celebrate Christmas!

Gravel section of road isn't fun, but still quite passable. Normally gentle hike probably not doable as loop until tributary streams calm down. North side of river, second stream crossing, foot log is out. Normally, you can stone step this crossing. But after heavy rains, water is about a foot deep and fast. This is prior to the bridge across the river. A few passable blowdowns along north side of the trail. South side of trail to the bridge in good condition.

Great time to see Staircase - after 4 weeks of rain the river rapids are spectacular! The last 4 miles of dirt road is starting to pothole as bad as Middle Fork Snoqualmie's road, so take it slow. Only saw 6 others entire hike. Nice color still among vine maples and bi lead maples. BIG TIP! The new owners at Hoodsport Coffee Company have extended the hours (7am-7pm), the menu (now with soup, salads and sandwiches) and free wifi! No longer necessary to race down off of trails in time for gourmet ice cream there (old owners closed shop at 4pm). Loved the coffee and sandwich I ordered..

We decided to hit the trails, even though we got a late start and it promised to be a rainy day. Moving to this part of the country I told myself I needed to fall in love with the rain. The drive up Hwy 101 along the canal and then on 119 to Lake Cushman Rd was half the fun of doing this 2 mile hike. There was brooding clouds over Hood canal. Once we were on FR 24 it was pretty rough going for my sons car. The many water filled potholes were nearly unavoidable. But we were rewarded with our first view of Lake Cushman. The scenic lookout was well worth the stop. Once we arrived at the Ranger Station we began our hike by crossing the bridge. The beginning of the trail was a nice wide level path. It was still nice, even if there was huge path covering puddles to avoid. There was a steady rain falling and we were soon soaked but we settled in for quiet hike. The trail is not level the whole way but there wasn't any real elevation gain. There are rocky parts (which in the rain can be slippery) and roots that need to be stepped over. A few Stairs to climb and two log bridges to ford over streams that were swollen. One of these seemed a bit in need of repair as a huge tree has fallen near it. It was fine but with rains and such I needed my sons help getting on to it. Still had I been alone I think I could have managed though not easily. Even though we resigned ourselves to getting wet we were still mostly able to stay out of the majority of the puddles. The new bridge is a wonderful addition. Attractive and functional, However, a sign at the either side indicating which way the trail back to the ranger station might be a good addition as we did have some momentary confusion as to which way to go after crossing. It was fairly logical but there did seem to be two directions to go. Overall, this was a fairly easy hike. I am 51 years old and way out of shape, living a mostly sedentary life (obviously seeking to change this) and this hike was completely enjoyable with lots to see and