A great easy hike! We drove in the long way from Ashford through the park and didn't arrive until 10:30 or so. Since it was a nice summer day, the day-use parking was already full by the time we arrived. We ended up parking on the side of the highway right next to the turnoff for the Ohanapecosh campground. This only added a half mile or so to our hike, so it wasn't too bad. By the time we got back around one, there was still plenty of parking on the shoulder.
We passed lots of people, but the trail wasn't overcrowded, maybe because of the limited parking. I expect quite a few people will end up here as the summer goes on – we overheard more than one group that hadn't realized they needed day-use reservations to enter the Paradise corridor. Anyone in their situation will likely end up hanging around Ohanapecosh even if that wasn't in their original plan.
Mosquitoes were present but weren't too much of a nuisance.
Comments