With waterfalls, glaciers, alpine lakes, wildflowers, extinct volcanoes, lava tubes, and countless peaks to summit, there’s tons of interesting hikes near Sisters, Oregon. We put together this list of hikes to help plan your next adventure.
The abundance of hikes near Sisters, Oregon, offer a little of everything. Options range from moderate waterfall hikes ideal for both families and dogs to short cave adventures just steps from the parking lot and super steep, challenging summits that take all day (or even overnight!).
Plus, it’s well worth exploring Sisters itself, a small town sitting at the base of the Cascades and serving as the gateway to the Three Sisters Wilderness.
Hiking and other outdoor pursuits are the obvious stars, but don’t miss the opportunity to wander this artsy Old West town, with surprisingly great food and plenty of eclectic shops.
Good to know: As of May 2021, many trails within Three Sisters Wilderness now require a day-use or overnight permit during peak season (June through October).
Sisters Oregon Hiking Guide
We’ve included some extra info for planning your hikes near Sisters, Oregon. Jump to the following sections (or just keep scrolling to see it all!).
1. Skylight Cave
- Distance: About 300 ft. from the parking lot
- Elevation gain: none
- Difficulty rating: easy
- Distance from Sisters: 11.5 miles
- Permit Required: no
Though it’s not exactly a “hike” in the conventional sense, this cave just outside of Sisters is quite a sight to behold and is often grouped into the best hikes near Sisters, Oregon.
Descend a metal ladder into what seems to be a pretty typical cave, but walk about 300 ft from the entrance and you’ll be rewarded with 3 beams of light shooting through the cave’s “skylights”.
In order to see this phenomenon, you must visit in the morning on a sunny day, as the light only streams in when the sun is at a certain position in the sky.
We wrote an entire guide to visiting Skylight Cave, including exactly how to get there and what to know before you go.
2. Black Butte Trail
- Distance: 4 miles out and back
- Elevation gain: 1,550 feet
- Difficulty rating: moderate – challenging
- Distance from Sisters: 14.7 miles
- Permit Required: Northwest Forest or National Forest passes, or America the Beautiful pass
- Trail notes on Alltrails
Distinctly symmetrical, 6,000-foot-tall Black Butte is home to one the shortest but steepest hikes near Sisters Oregon.
Two trails actually take you to the summit of the extinct volcano: this shorter version, by far the most popular, and the Historic Black Butte Trail, which is nearly 10 miles long and gains over 3,400 in elevation.
For this shorter hike, the forest road takes you about halfway up the butte to the trailhead. From there, it’s a very steep two miles to the top. About half the trail is under tree cover, while the last stretch is totally exposed.
At the summit, explore the historic fire tower, cupola lookout, and viewing platform. Placards identify the different peaks, including Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Broken Top, the Three Sisters, and Three Fingered Jack. There’s even a super scenic outhouse up here!
Fun fact for beer drinkers: Deschutes Brewery’s Black Butte Porter is named after this mountain!
3. Matthieu Lakes Trail
- Distance: 6-mile loop
- Elevation gain: 820 ft
- Difficulty rating: Easy – Moderate
- Distance from Sisters: 15 miles
- Permit Required: Central Cascade Wilderness Permit required June 15-October 15
- Trail notes on Alltrails
Located near La Pine, Oregon, this dog-friendly trail has very little elevation gain, so it’s a great choice for a more moderate hike.
Most of the trail is through forest which will help keep you cool on a hot day. The scenery is also quite dramatic, in the best of ways, with plenty of wildflowers and glacial lake views.
Stop at the lake midway through your hike to enjoy a nice picnic lunch and take a dip if you’re feeling up for it before completing the loop.
As a bonus, the trail links up with a section of the PCT on your way back, which is kind of fun. However, this section is narrow and steep with loose rocks, so hiking poles might be in your favor.
4. Tam McArthur Rim
- Distance: 5.3 miles out and back
- Elevation gain: 1,245 feet
- Difficulty rating: moderate – challenging
- Distance from Sisters: 15.8 miles
- Permit Required: Central Cascade Wilderness Permit required June 15-October 15
- Trail notes on Alltrails
For a relatively short hike with more of a challenge and jaw-dropping views of the Cascades and multiple lakes, Tam McArthur Rim is one of the best hikes near Sisters Oregon.
The trail starts near Three Creek Lake and starts to climb immediately. At the top of the plateau, look for faint trails to the right, leading to viewpoints of Three Creek Lake, Little Three Creek Lake, and peaks including Broken Top, Mount Bachelor, and on clear days, even Mount Hood!
If you’re up for a longer, more challenging day, you can continue on to Broken Hand or No Name Lake and Broken Top.
The best time to hike Tam McArthur Rim is late summer. Not only do wildflowers pop from late July into August, but at this higher elevation, snow doesn’t typically melt completely until then, either.
5. Canyon Creek Meadows
- Distance: 7.4-mile loop
- Elevation gain: 1,600 feet
- Difficulty rating: moderate
- Distance from Sisters: 24.4 miles
- Permit Required: Central Cascade Wilderness Permit required June 15-October 15 AND Northwest Forest or National Forest pass or America the Beautiful pass to park
- Trail notes on Alltrails
Canyon Creek Meadows is a VERY popular summer hike, largely because it’s one of the Cascades’ most accessible high-alpine wildflower meadows. It’s also an ‘easier’ option for summiting Three Fingered Jack.
Starting at Jack Lake trailhead, you’ll come to the lower meadow in a fairly easy two miles, then the upper meadow less than one mile further. Wildflowers blanket the landscape in July and August.
The trail isn’t maintained past the meadows, and involves scaling a steep glacial moraine. It’s worth it, as this is the view you came for: the small turquoise lake surrounded by a cirque at the base of Three Fingered Jack, an expansive valley beyond (and likely, some mountain goats!).
Note: Forest rangers recommend hiking the loop clockwise, to keep the flow of traffic moving (yes, it gets that crowded!).
6. Sahalie & Koosah Falls Loop
- Distance: 2.6-mile loop
- Elevation gain: 360 feet
- Difficulty rating: Easy
- Distance from Sisters: 34.4 miles
- Permit Required: no
- Trail notes on Alltrails
With two picturesque, ultra-blue cascades and a leisurely, family-friendly trail, this is one of the best waterfall hikes in Oregon.
You’ll likely hear Sahalie Falls from the parking lot (it’s probably only 100 yards away!). It connects to Koosah Falls via an easy loop trail along the river, with several photo ops and picnic spots along the way.
7. Green Lakes Trail
- Distance: 9.1 miles, out and back
- Elevation gain: 1,187 ft
- Difficulty rating: Moderate
- Distance from Sisters: 48.3 miles
- Permit Required: Central Cascade Wilderness Permit required June 15-October 15 AND a Northwest Forest or National Forest pass or America the Beautiful pass
- Trail notes on Alltrails
If you’re looking for an intermediate hike that won’t take all day, Green Lakes Trail is a great choice. The trailhead is located about 30-minutes west of Bend, just off the Cascade Lakes Highway.
Passing through some of the most beautiful Central Oregon wilderness, this trail is popular with hikers and trail runners alike.
On thickly wooded trails you’ll pass by a few small waterfalls until you reach Green Lake. This is a perfect spot to enjoy a picnic lunch with epic views of Broken Top in the backdrop before turning around to head back.
8. Moraine Lake Trail
- Distance: 7 miles out and back
- Elevation gain: 1,075 feet
- Difficulty rating: Moderate
- Distance from Sisters: 50 miles
- Permit Required: Central Cascade Wilderness Permit required June 15-October 15 AND a Northwest Forest or National Forest pass or America the Beautiful pass
- Trail notes on Alltrails
Starting from the same trailhead as Green Lakes and even following it for two miles, this hike offers up a bit of everything en route to brilliant blue Moraine Lake: multiple waterfalls and sparkling lakes, obsidian-studded lava flows, and even plains.
Once you reach the lake, you’ll find 22 first-come, first-serve primitive campsites. This is a fantastic overnight backpacking trip, whether it’s your main destination or you use it as a basecamp for summiting South Sister.
Note that the required wilderness permit in the summer and fall do not guarantee you a spot.
Like so many other hikes near Sisters, Oregon, there are two routes to Moraine Lake. Besides this Green Lakes option, you can take the South Sister Climbers’ Trail from the Devil’s Lake trailhead.
9. South Sister Trail
- Distance: 12.2 miles, out and back
- Elevation gain: 4,898 ft
- Difficulty rating: Very challenging
- Distance from Sisters: 50 miles
- Permit Required: Central Cascade Wilderness Permit required June 15-October 15 AND a Northwest Forest or National Forest pass or America the Beautiful pass
- Trail notes on Alltrails
Summiting South Sister is a bucket list hike for many Oregonians, however this hike should be tackled by experienced hikers only.
Know that you will need to start this hike early and put in some preparation efforts before hitting the trail. This hike will take the majority of your day (think 10-12 hours).
This trail is extremely challenging, and you’ll want to be prepared with proper hiking essentials such as shoes, gear, enough water, and food. Depending on the time of year you hike, you may need microspikes for walking along the crater at the summit.
If this isn’t scaring you away, it is extremely worthwhile and one of the most epic hikes near Sisters, Oregon on this list!
10. Broken Top Summit
- Distance: 12.3 miles, out and back
- Elevation gain: 3,674 ft
- Difficulty rating: Challenging
- Distance from Sisters: 50.7 miles
- Permit Required: Central Cascade Wilderness Permit required June 15-October 15 AND a Northwest Forest or National Forest pass or America the Beautiful pass
- Trail notes on Alltrails
If you’re looking for a challenging hike that’ll take up a good chunk of your day, we’d highly recommend this trail. In fact, this is one of our very favorite hikes in all of Oregon!
We put together an entire guide to hiking Broken Top with a detailed breakdown of the trail.
Best time to go hiking in Sisters, Oregon
Many, possibly even most, hikes near Sisters are technically accessible year-round. However, the best time to hit the trail overall in this area is July through September.
With numerous high-elevation peaks, roads and trails around Sisters are commonly snow-covered until June or early July. Then, come October, maybe November, it reliably starts up again.
In some cases, trails and even roads completely close in the winter and spring. And when they open for the season, avalanche danger is an issue for some time as snow melts.
The only downside to hiking in the summer and fall is that everyone else does, too. Central Oregon trails can get somewhat crowded, especially on weekends and nice weather days. Thankfully, things like wildflower blooms and jumping in alpine lakes make it worth the tradeoff!
Regardless of the time of year, avoid any high-elevation hikes in questionable weather. The Cascades are notorious for having their own weather systems, and they can change rapidly the higher you climb.
What to pack for hiking in Sisters, Oregon
- Navigation*: we recommend using Alltrails+ to download the offline trail map
- Get your first week of using Alltrails+ for FREE when you sign up using our link!
- Hiking daypack
- Water bottles and/or bladder for your Camelbak
- Bug repellant
- Sun protection: sunscreen, hat, sun glasses
- Headlamp
- Camera/tripod (this one’s our favorite for hiking)
- Lots of layers (here is a great resource if you’re wondering what to wear hiking)
- Rain jacket
- Comfortable hiking boots or shoes
- Microspikes (if there is any chance of snow and ice)
- Hiking poles (optional)
- Plenty of snacks: check out our favorite hiking snacks here!
Be sure to download our FREE hiking packing list before your next trip and never leave another essential behind again!
Roundup of hikes near Sisters, Oregon
Here’s a roundup of all the best hikes near Sisters, Oregon so you can see everything in one place.
- Skylight Cave
- Blake Butte Trail
- Matthieu Lakes Trail
- Tam McArthur Rim
- Canyon Creek Meadows
- Sahalie & Koosah Falls
- Green Lakes Trail
- Moraine Lake Trail
- South Sister
- Broken Top
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- 50 Best Hikes in Oregon (for every ability level!)
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We want to hear from you!
Have you done any of these hikes near Sisters Oregon? What was your experience like? Do you have more questions about hiking near Sisters? Comment below and let us know!