The Gold Creek trail and the Gold Creek pond trail are both closed for the next 3 to 10 years for restoration work. There's a locked gate near the feeder road with much signage indicating you cannot go to either place. I don't understand why they closed the Gold Creek trail since they're not working on that part.

We arrived to the trailhead around 11 a.m. on a cloudy Saturday. Parking lot is huge with only about 10 cars there. The toilet was closed, and trashcan hasn't been emptied. Near the trailhead, there was a lot of trash, but it was mostly clean around the pond. 

Several boards were missing on the boardwalk, and there were a couple snowy spots that were super easy to cross. 

Views were beautiful! Mountains and trees all around, and the pond lovely shades of green. I'm so glad I got to see it before they close for good soon! Signage at trailhead does not specify a timeline for closure, but news reports say spring or summer 2025. 

no barricades, no closed gates, no angry signs. parking lot was open. if you want to go before the closure, it did seem to be open right now. no promises to the future

We went here for the first time with our two dogs to get a hike in before the trail closes for renovation work. The Forest Service road the last half mile in had some snow which was melting but the tire ruts were pretty deep so we parked off the paved road and walked in. Most of the vehicles we saw that made it to the trailhead were higher-clearance. The bathrooms and trash bins at the trailhead were locked and it was clear no one had been through to clean up the parking lot area yet.

The trail itself was easy to follow, with about 50/50 snow coverage on the west side of the pond and almost total snow coverage on the east side. The wooden walkways on the north and east side of the pond were in rough shape but the damaged spots weren't hard to avoid. The hike took a bit longer than expected due to the amount of snow, but it wasn't difficult. Hiking shoes are a must.

Even with the constant on and off downpour of rain today, dog and I needed to get outside but only had the later part of the day available. Wanted to do something worth getting wet for and thought about this location, especially since it’s due to be closed any time now for that multi-year creek restoration project. The Pros. Gold Creek Pond is beautiful as usual even with the moody weather. When you first see it from the picnic area it appears mostly frozen, but as you walk around you’ll see the other side is unfrozen. There’s still some snow around the lake if you want to snowshoe but they aren’t required. The snow that is receding is also revealing some nice colors such as red bush branches and yellowed grass. The tree birds are singing their spring songs galore and the waterfowl are back in the unfrozen section. One final pro, having the option to visit the smaller Heli’s Pond, still completely surrounded by snow but itself fully unfrozen with both its shallow and vibrant green deep ends filled with clear water. I have a hard time not visiting Heli’s Pond whenever I come to Gold Creek Pond. Snowshoes could be more helpful here. It definitely helped to put on traction cleats. The Cons. No facilities…none. There’s no trash receptacle, no portable toilets like there were last time I visited in winter, and the pit toilet is still closed for the season. I try to avoid negativity in my reports, but I want to mention the following as a heads up for whoever has to come out and service this area when it’s thawed. There were three types of debris I saw that will make anyone either disgusted, sad, or mad. One - Trash, like everywhere, and more than I’ve seen before here but maybe normal for end of winter with things getting covered by snow? Two - Absolutely crazy number of dog poo bags (like I’m sorry, I can’t carry this many out on my own, some so old they’re leaking) and melting, thawing out poop. Three - Remains of campfires in the road going in as well as the main parking area near the pit toilet. In the road one there’s trash like as if they tried to burn after eating. And in the parking lot the snow has melted enough to see one of these has charred the ground and parking block. For a location like this with its established ADA accessible loop, educational signs, a beautiful representation of what nature offers year round around here, easier terrain for snowshoeing or hiking in winter, and overall accessibility…why does it not have more priority for regular services? I selected snow and ice on road for road conditions, but that’s only regarding the final stretch to the main trailhead parking, not to the snowshoe trailhead. That road running alongside the highway was completely clear.