**Recommend bringing snowshoes or at least microspikes**
We arrived at the trail around 10:15 am and parked about 0.6 miles from the trailhead - there were several other cars along the road as well, as the remainder of the road to the trailhead was covered in deep, pothole-filled snow and several downed trees.
We used snowshoes to get from our parking spot to the trailhead, then took them off for the first mile or so of the hike. There was occasional snow in the first half of the hike, but it was passable in regular hiking boots. There were a few stream crossings (waterproof hiking boots recommended!) and a number of downed trees to negotiate. Eventually, the snow became pretty consistent and deep, and we started sliding around and falling into existing postholes. We decided it was time for snowshoes and they certainly made a difference.
About a quarter mile from the lake, the trail kind of disappears. We followed some existing snowshoe tracks and eventually made it to the lake - it seems like there were a few different trails being made for that last bit. We had to be pretty careful here though, since the snow was getting softer and even with snowshoes we would occasionally posthole. The lake and mountain view at the top was lovely.
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