Started at 8am on a weekday to beat the heat. It's a dirt road to the trailhead, but a well-maintained one with barely any potholes or washboard. Made this one into a loop rather than the standard route to oyster dome - did Larry Reed and Max's Shortcut up to Lily Lake, up to oyster dome, and then the standard route back.
This was around 6 miles RT/1100ft gain, easy and pleasant. The trail is narrow in spots but well-maintained, only rocky in a few spots, with minimal mud. There's an easy-to-moderate incline at first that quickly flattens out until you get to Lily Lake, and then another quick ascent to oyster dome. The views are beautiful up there, and there are tons of spots to sit and relax.
A mosquito or two here and there, but I didn't get any bites. Otherwise, great conditions and a beautiful trail. This route seemed much quieter than the standard route - I didn't see anyone else going up, but passed a decent number of folks when I was on my way back to the trailhead.
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