I’ll throw in my vote for this trail as a great one for kids!  it was also perfect for two of us on a 90 degree day when slogging up Cascade Pass in the open sun didn’t sound so appealing.  As others have said, the first two miles or so, up to the river crossing, is gentle ups and downs with a couple downed trees as obstacles and one trail slide out spot that’s really narrow and pretty unstable.  It’s adventurous enough to make it fun for kids.

But the other thing we found really cool was appreciating the forest coming back to life 20+ years after the fire.  The underbrush is SO green, the saplings are 10-20’ tall, and we found lots of almost ripe blueberries in the sunny spots.  In some places, blackened tree trunks jut out of the vibrant green understory and the contrast between the two is really striking.  Nature doing nature stuff.  Pretty cool.

At the two miles mark the trail crosses the river on a log bridge and it pretty much disappeared into the brush. I couldn’t see any trail from halfway across and so I turned back. Instead, it’s easy to get down to the river about 50-100 yards back from here and it makes a great lunch, snack, and turnaround spot.  We sat for an hour then ambled back to the car, back to our campsite, and a swim in the river ten miles downstream.  It might’ve been a degree or two warmer - maybe.  

This is a trail along a beautiful, wild river just a few miles from its origins at the glacier that’s well worth a leisurely day hike. 

Fantastic walk through the woods!

TH: No toilet, just the turn off at the hairpin turn on Cascade River Road. Probably could only hold 4 vehicles.

Trail: The green is beautiful! The trail is easy to follow and the river is roaring. The spring foliage is overgrowing the trail so where long pants and if it's wet outside your legs will get soaked :) 

The beginning of the trail is has minimal elevation and crosses a beautiful runoff stream via an old wooden log. Then the trail starts a downward trajectory through the old burned area. A cliff begins but you get great views of the river and the canyon. Once you're level with the river there will be a broken wood sign on the right that marks the Middle Fork turnoff. We attempted to go on this section to find Gemini Falls but got lost in the boulder field. We returned to the main section and then crossed the Middle Fork via a wooden log. Even though the river was running high and fast we felt this log was very stable. We only went another .25 miles before we stopped to turn around.

Overall we loved this trail and want to come back to go further!

We were very grateful for the two recent and excellent trip reports for this trail.  They provide a great update to the official WTA description.  Things have changed a bit since those were written, so here is my update.

The first two miles of trail, up to the log crossing over Middle Fork, are still in excellent condition and the trail is easy to follow.  We had no problems with the stream crossings.  This section would make a good walk for children and dogs. 

However, things change at the Middle Fork crossing.  The log bridge is somewhat precarious (see photo), and probably not advisable for kids.  I suffer from vertigo and would certainly not have made it across without my hiking poles. 

Once past the crossing, we encountered increasing overgrowth along the trail.  Since the last trip report on May 10, the understory bushes have fully leafed out and we were often pushing through overhanging ferns, thimbleberries, salmon berries, huckleberries and even devil’s club.  Patches of tall nettles were particularly troubling.  We were glad to be wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts, but both of us got stung by nettles on our hands.  Gloves would be a good idea.  Most of the time the trail bed could be seen underneath the brush, but often we were unable to see where we were stepping, which made for slow going.  The further we went, the fainter and rougher the trail became, especially after the Big Rock campsite or shire, mentioned by the previous reviewers.  In places, the trail bed was so faint that it was hard to discern (see photo).  We might have pressed on further, but we had a time constraint that forced us to turn back after 3.7 miles.  I am not sure how much further we could have gone before completely losing the trail. 

Although the trail runs beside the river, access to the river is mostly blocked by steep banks and thick riparian vegetation.  Now that the leaves are fully out on the trees, views of the surrounding peaks from the trail are few and limited.  However, the forest is lovely.  The burned area is mostly above the trail and is often out of view.  Wildflowers were abundant along the trail.  There were carpets of blooming bunchberries and strawberries as well as patches of buttercups, fringecups, bleeding hearts, and false Solomon’s seal.  We even spied a few columbines and one paintbrush.  Elderberry and thimble berry bushes were blooming as well. 

After turning back, we found a place where we could access the riverbed and chose a sunny spot beside the river to have our lunch and soak in the more open views of the wild valley and surrounding cliffs (see photo).   All in all, it was a lovely day out in the wilds of the North Cascades.  Without maintenance, this trail will surely disappear before much longer, but perhaps it is a good thing to keep this valley wild.  Just a thought.

I wanted to get back on this for some time and explore farther than the first couple of miles. The first mile is in great condition with very mild elevation gains and loses. The bridge at the first creek ( Pincer creek I believe) is in excellent condition. There were warning signs due to a previous forest fire in the area but I really didn’t encounter anything I’d consider unsafe or a problem. The trail is obviously not maintained regularly but I found it to be in decent condition considering the area is notorious for rock slides during the rainy seasons and snowmelts. The second large creek (around 2.5 miles I’m guessing )has two large sturdy trees that made for an excellent bridge and a relatively safe and easy crossing as long as you aren’t goofing around on it. Roughly 3 miles in you come to what I called “The Shire” because it looks like something out of a fantasy novel. After the shite  the first boulder field and will start and you will begin to encounter random large tree falls, but again nothing too difficult. I’m in decent shape and was alone, but wouldn’t recommend small children or baby carriers past this point. From here on out the trail tends to hide from you every so often but thankfully there were old red flagging marking the trail consistently. Around mile 4 I encountered my first spot in which I lost the trail and had to wing it for a few minutes. However this part was right next to the river and I was able to pick it up again within 5 minutes or so. The trail is marked with the flagging and I was able to use the logs that have been cut out into steps to stay with it. I wanted a nice even number so I decided to go until my gps hit 5.0 miles. Right before the 5 mile mark there is what appears to be a fresh rock slide. This was probably the most cumbersome part of the entire hike due to the rocks being smaller and very, very unstable. I got tripped up twice before I crossed and it’s only about 30 feet wide. Be careful here. I called it at 5.02 miles as I was getting tired and needed to have the energy to get back. This trail isn’t hard great if you aren’t looking for big elevation gains and offers great views at near ground level along side massive rack faces. Do be cautious though. Although it isn’t difficult to traverse, the random obstacles along the way could make for a bad slip. A sprained or broken foot out there would not be advised. This trail isn’t very busy, especially this time of year. Not only is it not very busy, I haven’t read of too many people going past the first 3 miles. Enjoy the massive Cedar trees along the river and the unique views. 

Time to see how one of my favorite trails survived the winter.  The trailhead is unsigned, so check other resources to find the trailhead. The weather report was for dry and mild, which was very nice.  And the bugs have not woken up yet.  The first half mile of the trail is in the best shape I've ever seen it, and I figured out why.  Last year the trail was shut down during the Pincer Creek forest fire.  A fire fighting crew worked on removing dead snags above the trail from the trailhead to Pincer Creek.  Then they shoved all the dead snags to the downhill side of the trail (this initial part of the trail is actually a former logging road).

The crossing of Pincer Creek is made via two logs that are adjacent to each other and filled with dirt and rocks in the middle of the two logs, so most people should be okay at crossing it. I was thinking that because of the forest fire being uphill that Pincer Creek would be full of burned debris, but it was flowing clean and pure.

Once the trail gets to the end of the logging road (about 40 minutes), the real trail begins.  Eventually there is a stream crossing that is a little dicey to cross unless you are using walking sticks, which I have. One can also butt-scoot across a log that is at this location, if desired.

Eventually I arrived at the trail junction with the Middle Fork Cascade River trail.  I explored this trail for about an eighth of a mile, until the trail disappears into a large rock slope.

Continuing on along the S. Fork trail, in a short distance I arrived at the log crossing over the Middle Fork Cascade River.  I feel comfortable crossing this log standing up, but once again, feel free to butt scoot across if needed.  The trail continues into a recovering burn area that was improved by a WTA work crew a few years ago.  Then the trail drops down into the river bottom and crosses a small side stream, wanders thru an old-growth forest, and then arrives at what I call the Big Rock Camp Site (about 3.2 miles from the trailhead).  This is where I turned around today, since I had been doing some volunteer trail maintenance along the way (mainly throwing branches downhill off the trail).

There was a game camera next to the trail and I wonder if the batteries survived the winter.  If you are the owner of the game camera send us a report by appending to this trail report on what the camera caught.  Information like how many people and animals, and types of animals. Thanks.