South Fork Valley Trailhead

Good long hike/walk. Was muddy but nothing a pair of hiking boots can't deal with. Cool ice candle formations along the way. Bring something warm for when it gets cold.

We were a group of women backpacking overnight at Symphony Lake, mostly women over 50. The hike is easy with doable elevation gain, even for those not in shape. The last mile before Symphony Lake is a boulder field. There is somewhat of a trail but climbing over the boulders can be hard on knees and to keep your balance. Bring two walking poles. Keep your eye out for a trail. Also, to avoid the mud, keep watch for trails to your left hiking in. There is one that actually goes up the hillside for a bit. Wear good shoes and expect to get muddy.

Absolutely love this hike, one of my favorites in the area. I've gone there in the fall several times, but finally hiked it in the winter and it's great. It was a little hard to find the trail out of the parking lot... Will you leave the parking lot just fine but then so many people have forked off to go skiing, snowshoeing, or hiking.. We didn't quite know which trail was the correct trail. We were able to get to the correct trail very easily. The winter trail is pretty narrow because people have packed it down single file. I would highly recommend snow spikes, but most of our group didn't have them and did just fine.

So beautiful! The first thee miles are easy going then the farther you go the trail is less maintained. Worth it probably any time of the year.