Nice, straight forward leg stretcher on the way to other adventures or if you're camping here.  Good grade to give you some exercise without breaking a sweat.  Views up top are decent of surrounding peaks and that beautiful turquoise water.

Hiked this trail with my kids (6 & 9) starting around noon on a Sunday. The parking area was full, so we parked in the day parking lot  at the campsite across the highway. There is not an adequate shoulder to park along the highway. Don’t bother trying. 
The kids are experienced hikers and this was an easy hike for them with a nice view to reward them at the top. It is a well traveled trail. We lost the count how many parties we passed by…lots! While not remote, the hike was still fun, and just long enough to get a good stretch while on our way across the North Cascades.

Since this trail tends to attract hikers with a wide variety of experience and can become crowded, please note trail etiquette: Take note of those around you, try to spread out from other groups. If you need to pull over to allow others to pass you, find a wide spot on the trail or take a break on one of the many benches. Do not take short cuts on the switchbacks. It degrades the trail. Pay attention to fallen trees that seem to block small trails. They were likely placed there on purpose to help keep hikers on the main trail. Also, pack out everything you pack in. We saw orange peels at the viewpoint, and other litter along the way. A bit disappointing especially considering there were so many signs reminding people of this basic rule for exploring the wilderness. 

Beautiful "gem" of a trail that's very traveled but still worth the time and effort. It's relatively easy and has plenty of places to sit and hang out at the end. Good for new hikers.

East hike. The trail is rocky and a tad hard to follow right at the beginning while going through the campground, but after that it’s great. The seasonal bridge is a little shaky but totally fine. On Saturday, it was raining and overcast, so Mountain View’s were limited, but still a great view of Lake Diablo and a cool trail. Will be back to do it again.

Due to having to move campground locations we started very late at about 5:30pm. The trail parking area was full so we joined others parking along the highway on the other side of the road. Hordes of hikers were making their way down the trail as we went up so by the time we arrived at the viewpoints there were only a handful of people still there. The well maintained trail generally goes up and up but at a gentle pace; lots of kids and grandparents enjoying the day.

The Gorge dam spillway was open so the normally dry river bed from there to the powerhouse in Newhalem was a spectacular, raging torrent. Could salmon actually swim upstream against that wild flow? It would be a very tough go.