Goat Creek Trail

Hiked Goat Creek Trail #205 (near Morton) to Vanson Lake. But turned around mid-way due to snow. Cathedral Falls is snow free.

Rd 2750 has average pot holes and a few big ones. There are some flat spots. It gets rougher toward the end. High clearance vehicles won’t have a problem. Careful driving for lower clearance vehicles. Parking at the trailhead will accommodate many vehicles.

The trail is as you’d expect. Easy to Cathedral Falls. It’s 1.25 miles in and beautiful, but I was expecting there to be more water.

It is snow free beyond Cathedral Falls past the Jct of Trail #218. Keeping right, the first signs of spotty snow are just beyond that. It’s off and on for about ¼ mile until it becomes constant around the 2700ft level a ½ mile after the jct. In the beginning, the snow is slushy and slippery but only inches deep. Soon it’s a foot deep but firmer and lightly travelled. Then becomes mid-thigh post-holing. After this the tracks stop and I was the only one. Breaking trail was about knee deep post-holing with some butt deep post-holing. That’s where I turned around and actually lost sight of the trail at the 3000ft level at a very beautiful cascading falls. At the 2900 ft level, there are 2 very big blow downs across the trail that require hiking around. Snow makes it more difficult.

All and All it was a good hike. Snow made it more challenging and I will go later in the year to make it to Vanson Lake.

Did part of this trail today. It was beautiful! Roads and the trail up to the waterfall are clear. Snow about half way up the trail prevented us from getting to the top. Need snowshoes still (easy to lose the trail and the post holing was going to be too tough for us.) This trail is nice because of the changing scenery along the route.

A couple of good pot holes on forest road so take it slow but gate is open.. you can get all the way up to the trailhead.. no snow on trail either....wet in spots but not bad at all..falls are flowing real good!!

truck now required to get to trail head. also right now I would consider some of it a snow hike.

The road wasn't as terrible as we expected it to be. The trail was pleasant and the falls were amazing. Good hike for all ages and abilities.

Dogs are aloud on this trail head according to 'Washington Trails Association'. As long as they are on leash.

Long but rewarding. Definitely recommend taking the lower trail. When you get to the creek (right after a noticeable increase in incline) the trail can be easy to miss. Hike perpendicular to the creek to continue. Don't try to hike up the rocky creek path like we did at first.

The lake is gorgeous and very peaceful.

I hiked with my 7 month old daughter in a carrier and while the up and down was rough because I'm out of shape and had an extra 20 lbs, the multiple water falls is well worth it! Drive careful too! Happy hiking!

Beautiful waterfalls, fun water crossings. The second half of the trail is a bit overgrown, and there's a lake at the end, but not a showstopper. Still a lovely hike, I'd do it again. The road sucks. Our Subaru did just fine.

road going up is pretty rough. waterfalls are beautiful right now but definitely be ready to get your feet wet. some deep snow twards the end of the trail.

Lots of water flow right now. It made for some amazing views of the waterfalls and rivers, but be prepared for wet feet. At some points the trail itself was a running creek. It was easily hiked by my three children (the youngest being 7), and we did it in less then 4 hours(we took play breaks).

Went up this weekend. it is not closed. not at all. there was plenty of people there. and no gates were closed or locked. I don't recommend anything with low ground clearance getting to the trail head. driving was a little rough. not 4x4 only just rough. the trail it's self was way worth it. I'm coming back and doing more. I love this place.

As of August 27, 2016- Road closed at the start of Conley Rd. due to extreme fire hazard. No access to the trail to do this hike

This hike was fun, really awesome waterfalls along the way. The drive was a little sketchy on the way up in a 2013 Ford Fusion, it scraped the skid plates a couple times :(. only did about 4 miles of the hike this day because we got a very late start. The hike we intended to do had the road washed out, we just happen to stumble upon this one after some locals tell us about it. Still was awesome and fun. Easy hike, even for kids!

My mite and I went last week end and it was a beautiful experience. Must do trip I will be going back for sure

Access to Goat Creek is closed by the Port Blakely Tree Farm Company due to extreme fire hazard. Will likely be closed the rest of the Summer.

Very pretty waterfalls and an easy trail. Getting to the trailhead can be a small challenge when there is two-way traffic.

I love this trail and have been asked continually,"Where is that trail with the blue water you're jumping into!? Oh and the one with the really pretty waterfall!?" Well, they are one in the same; however, the pool of water can be SEEN from the trail but to get down to it might take some doing through devils club and down a slippery slope. I've done this trail several times and am still in love! The waterfall is best in the spring and early summer.

I tried to go up there today but there were trees blocking the road. So just a heads up.

I hiked this with my 74 year old dad, 7 year old daughter, and 13 year old son. While some parts were challenging there were hardly any times when we really needed a break other than when my daughter and I scrambled up underneath Cathedral Falls. This hike is pretty much perfect. The ups and downs are not extreme nor constant in either direction. There are a couple of treacherous water crossings so waterproof boots are recommended. That said, two of us had sneakers and were fine. We turned around at the falls because the trail looked fairly difficult after that but it was still just about 5 miles roundtrip. Lots of foliage to look at, old growth forest, and just general Western Washington beauty. Oh, and there was a cave! It wasn't deep at all but we stood inside. Very cool.