Summary: 7 miles round trip from Sol Duc, over 1600 ft of gain, significant snow for the last two miles, snowshoes highly recommended
Getting there: Sol Duc Hot Springs just opened for the season, and with it, the entrance road into the Sol Duc Valley. The road was snow-free from the junction with Highway 101 until the resort, but the final two miles from the resort to the trailhead had a thin layer of snow/ice. The parking lot at the end of the road had a modest amount of snow, but it was mostly plowed clear. The privys at the trailhead were well-stocked with paper and sanitizer.
To Sol Duc Falls: A bit of snow and ice on the trail, but no microspikes needed. The falls have excellent volume and are a sight to behold.
Up to Deer Lake: There's a small blow-down by the junction to Deer Lake, but it's easily navigated. You won't need snowshoes until maybe half a mile up, but then you'll really need them. There's several feet of powder at times, interspersed with small creeks caused by melt-off. We had to do some step-kicking at times to cross three-foot deep rivulets, which caused us to ascend a bit more slowly than I anticipated. The only truly dicey portion of the trip is the final approach to the lake, where there's a steep drop off to the left.
Heading Down: The lake itself is placid and a bit unremarkable, almost entirely frozen over. We made good time on the way down, and around halfway ran into an ill-prepared hiking party in jeans that did not have snowshoes. They had been postholing up the whole way, and looked less than thrilled. Also, the amount of snow melting and falling from the tree canopy was visually stunning, and physically too: I got a few hard knocks on the head from plummeting clods of ice.
Bonus: The hot springs at the resort make for a nice soak! They were surprisingly busy for such a cold weekend.
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