The trail shares its start with the Ross Dam trail, so follow that wide — but steep — trail down until you meet the service road in just under a mile. Turn right on the road towards the ferry and phone, signposted at the intersection. The trail takes off on the right .2 of a mile on the road and a mile from the TH, it is signed for Happy Panther trail. The mountain views are here at the beginning — enjoy the look over Ross Dam and Lake to the peaks above.
From here, it is a gradual up-and-down through mossy forest and little creeks, the turquoise water showing behind the trees. There are sections of brushy overgrown salal understory and some blowdown, this trail seems to be low on the park maintenance list. In the spring there are clumps of Calypso orchids all along the trail, they are the little pink lady slipper flowers that love the moss and decaying plant matter.
In 3 miles, come to Lillian Creek, spanned by a large sturdy bridge — the spray from the waterfall will be refreshing on a hot summer day. Keep going another mile to the next creek, Berry Creek, also spanned by a sturdy bridge. Here, you can eat lunch on the bridge, enjoy the waterfall and turn around for a satisfying day hike.
If you want to keep going, hike until you run into the intersection with the East Bank trailhead 6.25 miles from your start. There are a couple of unbridged creek crossings that may be unsafe in spring runoff but barely a trickle later in the season. At the end is Panther Creek, the start of the Ruby Creek trail and the start of the East Bank Ross Lake trail.
This hike was once a miner’s trail back in the early 1900s. Now, it is generally used as a connector trail for Pacific Northwest Trail thru-hikers getting from one side of the lake to the other, you may meet some on their way. No happy panthers, however — the name is from the two creeks.