This was a great ride out of Quinn Meadows Horse Camp. You start on the Sink Creek trail when you get up near the highway you take the flagged trail to the right and follow the yellow flags for about a mile, turn right when you intersect a main trail (Katsup but not marked at that point) follow it to the headwaters then you can return to camp.
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Well the course was longer than expected; very beautiful but unrelenting uphill.
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Alpine start 4:30am and hike to Green Lakes is great. Pleasant grade and elevation gain to Green Lakes, would be a great overnight spot. Had to cross knee deep water between Green Lake to begin climb toward Lewis Tarn and the South Sister climbers trail. This 2 mile screw scramble was the crux of the climb, navigating across small snow fields and various scree ribs was far more taxing than the ‘red mile’. Once at Lewis Tarn, joined the other climbers going for the summit, slow and steady wins here. On the way back down, find the most logical route to avoid kicking rocks down on people coming up. The side trails down toward Moraine Lake are posted as closed for restoration so walked a bit further toward the Moraine Lake trail where the campsites are. Rejoined Green Lakes trail to the trailhead. Long satisfying day in the mountains!
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Really pretty hike to two lakes. Very few mosquitoes on this one. A few downed trees, but they were easy to get over. The map wouldn’t come up on Giai so I had to use AllTrails:(
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Three Sisters Wilderness Backpack 2023
Day One, Lava Camp Lake TH start at 3 pm
Dry trail, lots of people leaving on a Monday afternoon.
Quick arrival to South Matthieu Lake
A few flowers and gorgeous views of Washington, Three-Fingered Jack, and Mt Hood
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Day Three to the Obsidian area.
Great hike through lava flows, switchbacks, and past Sawyer Bar (still dry). Back into the woods and sensitive Glacier Creek which is still closed for recovery.
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Day Two, Heading down the PCT to Minnie Scott Spring—only a few miles and 1000’ but we’ll set up camp then day hike summit Collier Come and double the elev and distance. Great hike up Collier Cone with views of North Sister and Brother. Gray rock at the beginning was moraine (terminal?) pushed by glacier. Looking at the former glacier up N. Sister, lateral moraines could be seen with a glacial lake
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The trail itself is beautiful and easy to navigate. Only made it to Doris Lake and turned around because the mosquitoes were out in force. Hope to do the entire hike when there are less mosquitoes.
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Please contact me if you find a petzl summit Ice axe. Left up there yesterday. Much appreciated. 8045646229
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We enjoyed this hike! It is a great summer trail. Make sure to start early before 5am to beat the crowds and the heat. Pack plenty of water and don't forget a hat! After the first section in tree line, the trail becomes very exposed, hot, and dry. We attempted a summit around early July and there was snow, but overall minimal minus one small snowfield we had to cross, and one near the false summit area. We brought an ice axe and our crampons and micro spikes just in case, but didn't end up needing them. We did the hike in one day. Made for a long day. It took us approximately 7 or 8 hours with plenty of breaks. It is common to start the hike in afternoon or evening before, backpack and camp along the route, and summit during sunrise. Beautiful hike with 360 views of cascade volcanoes. Definitely worth the trek for expansive views. We brought our pup, but she got quite hot. Make sure to bring enough water for them, trail snacks, and booties for their feet.
Check out our Three Sisters Video on our channel:
https://youtu.be/haepkHHcJc8
https://www.youtube.com/HelenandTimTravel/videos
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2nd summit trip, arrived at Moraine lake around 7:10PM plan to leave around 4:00 am for summit.
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A new favorite hike. Large parking area with ready access from Sisters. There were people on the trail but still a fair amount of isolation, excluding T-Mobile cell service which was relatively constant. The trail itself is well maintained and a fairly constant grade the entire route, views are spectacular (because of) the recent fire burns.
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Incredibly challenging day. A lot of climbing and descending over extremely rough terrain and rocky aggregate. Most amazing views from the top.
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Trail was as advertised. Trees, burned areas,lava field and streams. Saw lots of PCT hikers. Permit was not a problem.
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Always like to do this trail . Great views and two lakes. Went clockwise this time.
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Hike back through mile of blowdown around noname lake on Green Lakes Trail. Good to be heading home; kids did well!
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Lots of blowdown of dead trees over trail made for a challenging day for green backpackers
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This is a great trail, we in countered a lot of snow and wish we had had some hiking sticks. With 1400 feet of altitude gain I wouldn’t call it easy. I am a fit 67 year old and I would call it moderate.
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Beautiful waterfalls and great views of the Sisters but 80% of the hike goes through a significantly burned area without much tree cover
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Unbelievable views of the Sisters. Had to skin up Hayden glacier. Amazing ride down.
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Amazing Trail with some epic viewpoints along the way. I did an overnight backpacking trip with 4 others during the summer of 2021. We setup camp North of Broken Hand & then hiked out to a peak just SW of Broken Hand to watch an amazing sun settle down between the Sisters before disappearing all together. I awoke the next morning to an AMAZING Sunrise that I was able to view right through my open tent door. The hike in and out was amazing because of the beautiful views all around. Lots of wild flowers were in bloom and there was still sections covered in snow. Standing atop of the rim and looking down into the valley is quite a sight. This is a great overnight backpacking trail/location.
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This is a great loop with some challenging moments due to blowdown and sun exposure. I started and finished this backpack at the Pole Creek Trailhead. The Pole Creek area was completely burned out in 2012. It's not the most fantastic part of the hike, but it's nice to see that it's slowly recovering. It also had a ton of blowdown on the return from Matthieu Lake, which was very tedious after a bit. Many trail reports I read said to skip this part. I'll leave that for you to decide. The rest of the loop was beautiful. The major highlights were Green Lakes, Moraine Lake, Linton Meadows, The Obsidian Limited Entry Area/Opie Dilldock Pass, Matthieu Lake, the views of all of the mountains, the wildflower displays, and of course, the people that I met along the way. The low lights were as aforementioned, the burned-out, Pole Creek area, and the sun exposure. It was in the 80s most of the time I was on the trail. When I wasn't in shade, the sun made it feel much hotter. On that note, make sure you have extra water for the Obsidian Limited Entry Area/Opie Dilldock Pass area and from Matthieu Lake to the Pole Creek trailhead. You'll certainly need it. Obsidian Falls is a great water refill spot, but you'll also pass another creek (White Branch?) which is your last option until Matthieu Lake. At Matthieu Lake you can refill for the rest of your trek through the Pole Creek burn area, which has no water in the summer months.
PERMITS: As of this year you need a permit to overnight. The permit system certainly made for a much quieter experience in the wilderness. I'd go hours without seeing someone. The busiest section was definitely the PCT. Check out my blog post here for more info:
https://www.cbakerphotography.com/blog/three-sisters-wilderness-loop-2021
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Beautiful area with numerous lakes scattered throughout. Well maintained trails branching off of the PCT and numerous options to camp beside lakes.
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A strenuous but very rewarding hike with views improving along the way as we neared the base of Broken Top and enjoyed full and unobstructed vistas with all Of the Three Sisters before us, in addition to many of the more distant peaks.
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Fantastic. Did this as practice for our Olympic trip. Originally planned to do it in two nights, but I didn’t want to rush back to work, so we settled on a one-nighter. About eight miles in I decided that we would try to summit Broken Hand at sunrise on Monday. We booked it past Green Lakes and hiked for an hour after sunset, pitching out tent in the dark and eating salami burritos for dinner. First day was 14ish miles. Woke up at 3:30am, had camp broken in an hour, and started our climb. We made it to No Name Lake by 6:25am, not quite making our goal of reaching Broken Hand. Glad we got to No Name with some sunlight, though, as the next two miles were highly technical and dangerous. Had oatmeal loaded with trail mix and butter for breakfast on the east side of Broken Hand. My right knee and IT band started to ache a mile below Broken Hand. Emily’s heels blistered almost immediately, but she was a trooper and made it all the way though. Views were incredible, we were above the smoke, and temperatures weren’t that bad. We expect the olympic trip to be smooth sailing after this.
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This was a great hike, both challenging and very scenic. We spent 11 hours on the mountain so be prepared for a good workout. Bring plenty of water (we had 4 liters) and food (burned about 4500 calories). Also, trekking poles and gators will be especially handy in the deep scree and volcanic rock. The scenery was diverse, volcanic landscapes, glacial lakes and views of the Sisters, Broken Top and Bachelor.
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Lots of mosquitoes, hot without much cover. Other than that amazing hike
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Mosquitos once warmed up and patches of snow between Blow and Doris
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Mosquitos once warmed up and patches of snow between Blow and Doris
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This is Nancy’s Loop, part of the cross country ski trail at the Three Sisters Upper Snow Park. Because most of it is in the burned area of the forest, it is quite poorly marked in places so you definitely need to navigate by GPS if you can’t find the blue markers and the snow is fresh with no other skier’s trail. Definitely less traveled than the main up and down route. I generally go up the main route to the Jefferson shelter at top and then come down this loop which ends up merging with Warrens Loop to the main trail.
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Trail is good shape, lots of people out for a nice November day. Wish I could’ve camped at Green Lakes! Was so beautiful!
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Cute lake. Decent hike but note that the first half is through a major burn (avoid on hot days due to a lack of shade). Gets forested after 3.5 miles in.
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Hiked this in the clockwise direction. Makes for the first day being the hardest but also the most amazing views. Day two is lovely and not too long to Golden Lake. The hike out is fairly unremarkable but makes for a nice highway back to your car.
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Moraine lake was cooler than expected. Great views. Interesting geology
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I did this hike with my son back in 2000 just before he left to go to graduate school at the University of North Carolina. It was a wonderful father/son experience. It still remains so after 20 years. Shortly afterwards my wife and I gave him a framed photograph of the sisters so he could show his North Carolina colleagues what real mountains look like.
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Amazing hike once again. Was able to complete this with my wife. She really enjoyed the hike even though it was a challenge. We did not set any speed records, but successfully made the top and returned home safely. Awesome hike to spend time with her! Beware of the scree!
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Super beautiful area. July had tons of mosquitoes. Trailhead rough and needs 4wd.
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Beautiful, long hike through wildflowers and open vistas on the way to Green Lakes. After lunch a shorter hike—at first along the magnificent lava flow and flower lined creek, then through tall hemlocks and past rushes of cascades back to the car.
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Great falls. Can be hot and dusty. Steep if you press on to Upper Chush Falls.
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First three miles was through a burned out area. Some nice views and the wildflowers were in bloom.
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This hike was beautiful! Still some snow areas in some areas along the trail and some ice in the lake. Great trail that has a more gradual incline over the ascent. Trail
Is along the river for much of it.
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Great spot that should not be attempted in June (or until later in July) without GPS, crampons or snowshoes (or at least Yaktrax). Water sources difficult to find under snow, and very easy to lose the trail. Great views and varied terrain make this a hike I’d love to repeat without the added challenge of 3-5+ feet of snow for 80% of the loop. Major mosquito activity at the trailhead and into the first few miles, bring deet.
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Upper Chush Falls was shockingly high. Cascade Falls was cool and Lower Chush falls was larger than expected and amazing.
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Strenuous & steep, but well worth the views (we luckily had great visibility yesterday). Exposed trail after the first 1.5 miles. Hiking poles definitely recommended! The 3 dogs in our group made it to the summit with us without any issue. Pack extra water for them as it is scarce along the way.
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Some snow and a few patches of mud in the afternoon but weather was perfect. Road from Todd Lake TH to Broken Top TH is extremley rough, you need a high clearance vehicle. Great hike!
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The road to Broken Top TH was rough! I have a 2013 Outback and it was sketchy in a couple of spots. Saw a few Crosstreks that had a better time due to the shorter wheelbase.
Vault toilet at the TH, not in bad shape and plenty of TP.
The hike in was so nice and mellow, actually descended about 600’ to Green Lakes. The elevation didn’t start til 4.5-5 miles then it went up relentlessly. The ridgeline was exposed and rock was chossy but the path was wide enough and pretty straightforward.
Getting up the summit block entailed some route finding and some backtracking, but I climbed up a small crack to the ledge then bouldered up a couple of sections. The summit was small but had commanding views!
I down climbed to the first ledge then went to the north to down climb a slightly less exposed route. I then took the scree slope down, thankful for putting on gaiters! Still had to dump out all the dust that collected in my shoes.
I hooked back up with the trail just above Green Lakes and headed back to the car.
I only had trail runners, gaiters and one trekking pole. No snow equipment needed and the section that some people rope up on was sketchy if you don’t have comfort bouldering and with exposure. I did just fine soloing but a fall would’ve been hazardous.
Car to car was about 6:40, starting at 7:20 am.
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First backpacking trip with kids, ages 15, 12, 9, & 7. Moderately difficult for a short portion of the trail, basically going into and out of the lake basin. Stunning setting with nearby waterfalls to hike to. Great camping sites at Obsidian Creek and Linton Creek, however the site at Obsidian Creek is the nicer of the sites. Great Lake for swimming and fishing-bring a pole or a floatie. Extra bonus sighting cougar prints along the lakeshore.
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There is snow along this trail in spots all summer, but it is passable by mid July with just a few snow crossings. The hard part of this hike is getting past Broken Hand. If you go all the way to Broken Hand it is nearly impossible to get around: you can try to cross the steep glacial field to the north, which is dangerous; you can try to free climb the rocks, which is dangerous; or you can walk back on the trail about 100 yards or so and find the lesser marked trail that passes to the south of Broken Hand. If you decide to go south of Broken Hand, there are numerous trails to the main trial that gets to the lake and the trip is worth it - a blue lake surrounded on all sides by steep banks of snow.
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We tried this hike back in May and couldn’t make it to the falls due to the deep snow. Today was much easier with clear trails. It’s a slight incline to the first falls, but you then need to descend a fairly steep slope to reach the base of the falls, which is where you get the best view. There is another set of smaller falls a short distance further, and the much taller Upper Chush Falls is about 0.6 miles beyond the first falls. The last part of that trail gets pretty steep but the view is well with it. Total round trip was 5.8 miles and took us 3 hours including a lunch break. Lots of good scenery along the way, including mountain views, the meandering Whychus Creek, small streams to cross, and a crystal clear pond with bright green algae on the bottom. It was also good timing for several different wildflower varieties.
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Mostly bushwhacking on the way there, but a beautiful little lake!
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Loved the terrain! Challenging but so doable. Incredible views!!!
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