Take the Climbers' Trail to Reach Hayden GlacierFor Central Oregon hikers looking for something different that does not require a paid permit, the climbers' trail on Middle Sister is well worth it. Most hikers would start in the burned forest at the Pole Creek Trailhead located off forest service road 15 outside of Sisters (the parking at the trailhead requires $5 payment or a forest pass). After hiking the trail to the junction with Green Lakes Trail 17, trekkers continue on Trail 17 toward Park Meadow. Shortly after crossing Soap Creek is the junction with Camp Lake which hikers should take to reach the unmarked junction with the Climbers' Trail. If hikers miss this trail, it loops with another section of the Camp Lake trail near one of the branches of Wychus Creek which hikers to Cam... 09/22/2025

Alder Springs Flows Into Wychus Creek The hike to Alder Springs outside of Sisters limits motorized access from December 1st through March 31st to protect the winter rangeland of the local deer populations. However, access to the trail head is on rough dirt roads for which 4 wheel drive and high vehicle clearance is recommended. Directions to the official trail head can be found on the USDA website. The "unofficial" route involves travel on Locust Street (Camp Polk Road) in Sisters 3.1 miles north from East Cascade Avenue. Take this to Wilt Road, staying on Wilt when the pavement ends 4 miles. Past Rimrock Ranch the road is less maintained. Travel another 2.2 miles until you see a sharp unmarked turnoff to the right onto a rough dirt road. The weekend of April 5, 2025 this road was alm... 04/09/2025

Cascade Mountain Hikes in Fall Can Have Unexpected Weather Conditions Hiking in the Oregon Cascades in the fall can offer amazing experiences with stunning views, early snow, fall colors, and no need for forest passes. However, the weather can also change suddenly and hikers need to be prepared. On October 26, 2024, the hike from Three Creeks Lake to Tam McArthur Rim began with low clouds covering the Cascades. The hike up from the trailhead (the sign was already covered for winter), to the rim experienced some wind, although much of the early part of the trail was in sheltered forest. Once reaching the rim, the winds really picked up, but the clouds also lifted so that the mountains (Broken Top, The Three Sisters, Mt Washington, Three Fingered Jack) could be seen. Typically the unmain... 10/31/2024

Canyon Meadow is a Permitted Hike in the Mt Jefferson Wilderness Canyon Meadow is a relatively easy hike in Central Oregon if limited to just the meadow loop which takes trekkers through burned forest, old growth forest and the meadow back to the beginning at Jack Lake. However, many will take the one way climb past the meadow up to the base of Three Fingered Jack. This adds significant elevation gain as well as beautiful views of Three Fingered Jack, sometimes including mountain goats and technical climbers on the craggy top of the mountain. For those adventurous enough to climb the loose rock and pumice past the glacial lake onto the ridge separating Three Fingered Jack from the nearby unnamed hill, the views south toward the Three Sisters and Mt. Washington and the views north towar... 10/04/2024

If you are one of the people who love to climb mountains, you are probably familiar with the climber's trail which provides the established way to summit North Sister in the Oregon Cascades. For those not that ambitious but who love a long day hike, taking the trail part way will enable hikers to have amazing Cascades views plus close up access to Hayden Glacier on Middle Sister. The route to Hayden Glacier starts at the Pole Creek Trailhead. This is the same trail that is taken to reach Camp Lake which provides for wonderful access to the north facing slopes of South Sister. The first 3.5 miles is through the burned forest of the 2012 Pole Creek fire, but after leaving burned woods, the trail enters healthy forest and the trek is shaded. Before hikers reach the North Fork of Whychus C... 09/06/2024

Black Crater Trailhead is Located off McKenzie Hwy 242 For those wanting a relatively short hike which provides for a lot of elevation gain, Black Crater is one of the best. Located off McKenzie Hwy 242, the hike is limited to the summer season when McKenzie Hwy opens each year. Unfortunately, the 2017 Milli fire burned a lot of the forest on McKenzie Hwy, and the lower slopes of Black Crater were impacted. In the seven years since the Milli fire, manzanita, certain grasses, some wildflowers, and young trees have begun to grow in the dead landscape, but it will take decades until the cinder cone is entirely forested again. The one advantage of the burned forest is the views toward Mt. Washington are far more visible in the lower elevations than they would have been eight years ago. Rou... 08/15/2024

Camp Lake is at the Base of South Sister Although many will hike to Green Lakes and enjoy the experience of the lakes in the valley between South Sister and Broken Top, relatively few hike to Camp Lake and see South Sister so close from the north. The hike to Camp Lake (Pole Creek trailhead just outside of Sisters) takes you through several miles of burned forest before hikers enter living forest, so it can be hot and dusty in the summer. However, once hikers reach unburned trees, the hike becomes more pleasant. In recent years, the fallen trees of the burned forest have been cleared from the path, so scrambling over, under and around fallen logs was not an issue in 2024.  On August 3, 2024, the air in Central Oregon was better than it had been earlier in the week (many Oregon forest f... 08/13/2024

Chush Falls Is Snow FreeOne of the earliest spring snow free hikes in Central Oregon's forests is the hike to Chush Falls. The trailhead is located off the road to Three Creeks Lake outside of Sisters several miles down a gravel road and then a short trek up a narrow dirt and rock road. The parking area is small so people wanting to hike the relatively short 2.2 miles to lower Chush Falls should plan on arriving early to get a parking space. The trail starts in burned forest - the result of the 2017 Milli Fire. However, unlike the experience with earlier hikes, almost all of the burned trees from this fire which have fallen across the path have been cleared which makes the trek to Lower Chush Falls fairly quick. One result of the fire are the views of North/Middle Sister and Broken Top ... 05/30/2024

Hike Alder Springs Ideally In Fall Or Spring The hike to Alder Springs outside of Sisters limits motorized access from December 1st through March 31st to protect the winter rangeland of the local deer populations. However, access to the trail head is on rough dirt roads for which 4 wheel drive and high vehicle clearance is recommended. Directions to the official trail head can be found on the USDA website. The "unofficial" route involves travel on Locust Street (Camp Polk Road) in Sisters 3.1 miles north from East Cascade Avenue. Take this to Wilt Road, staying on Wilt when the pavement ends 4 miles. Past Rimrock Ranch the road is less maintained. Travel another 2.2 miles until you see a sharp unmarked turnoff to the right onto a rough dirt road. Travel on this past a gate until you re... 04/08/2024

The 48th annual Sisters Quilt show, celebrated as the world's largest outdoor quilt show, was held last Saturday, July 8th. Quilts could be seen hanging from walls, porches, in windows, on fences and over balconies. It was estimated that over 1300 quilts were displayed throughout the town with over 10,000 visitors from all 50 states as well as some foreign countries. This year's theme was "Hidden Stories" and it was interesting to try to figure out the stories in these beautiful works of art.Original blog can be read at Bend Premier Real Estate's blog. 07/10/2023

Great Workout and Great Views Black Butte is an iconic landmark just outside Sisters Oregon and over the years has also been a fire lookout. Today it is a terrific hike climbing 1600 feet in just under 2 miles. When hiked Black Butte on May 8, 2021, the weather was cloudy and cool, but the trail was free from snow until just before the top of the butte. To access the trail head, travel west on Highway 22 five miles past Sisters until you reach the Indian Ford Campground exit (milepost 95). Travel on paved Forest Road 11 until you reach unpaved Forest Road 1110. Travel on 1110 just under six miles to the trailhead (the last mile is quite narrow and rough).  The trail head requires a forest pass and the parking area can fill up early.  The path to the top of the Butte is well maintained a... 05/11/2021

The "Unofficial" Hiking Route on Lower Whychus CreekWe hiked to Alder Springs last year for the first time. This lovely canyon oasis, located on Whychus Creek near the confluence of the Deschutes River, has beautiful geological formations and stunning sights at every turn. The "official" and "unofficial" trails are closed December 1 through March 31, but during our recent hike April 24th, 2021, we saw fewer than 20 people the entire time and no one at all on our "unofficial" trail.  The unofficial trail starts at Whychus Creek Crossing, located inside the Crooked River National Grassland. The road to the crossing is rough, passable by standard car, but we would recommend a 4 wheel vehicle. There are several picnic tables at the crossing and no trailhead. But if you walk past the last pi... 04/27/2021

Our first hike of 2021 was at the Whychus Canyon Preserve, a place we had never been before.  Located at the end of Goodrich Road off Cloverdale Road outside of Sisters, the preserve provides for 3 different hikes of varying difficulty and view. We took the Long Canyon Route which follows the canyon rim before dropping 300 feet in elevation into the canyon and follows the creek for 2.3 miles before climbing back to the rim. The walk on the rim travels through meadows and has a  North Sister view overlook before heading back to the trailhead. All in all, the loop is roughly 5 miles and depending on the time of year, can offer wildflowers and mountain views. The other hikes in the Whychus Canyon Preserve include the Mid Canyon Route, shorter with only 3 miles, and the Wagon Road and Meado... 01/06/2021

We have heard about Chush Falls, located off the Three Creeks Lake road outside of Sisters, Oregon, for many years, but had never hiked it until last Saturday. Since it was the middle of December, but snowfall had been somewhat light, we believed we would be fine hiking in the 2 plus miles into the waterfall. We got a late start so that it would be warmer, but experienced a lot of ice on the trail the first mile. Although we had trekking poles, ice spikes for our shoes would have been very helpful and that first mile was walked fairly slowly. The first mile of the hike is through the burned trees of the 2017 Milli fire. But despite the burned trees, there has been a lot of regrowth with manzanita and young trees and the views of North and Middle Sister were beautiful. However, one issue... 12/21/2020

We have lived in Central Oregon since 1985.  During this time we have never hiked the Metolius River until this weekend. The day was overcast and light rain came and went. When we started the hike, we only saw one person for the first 2 miles - a fisherman casting his line in a quiet place on the river.  We started our hike at the Canyon Creek Campgound at the West Metolius Trailhead and followed the river downstream over 2.5 miles until we reached the Wizard Falls fish hatchery.  The hatchery was closed due to Covid-19 and the bridge over the river was blocked. However, since we were on the hatchery side of the river, we walked on the bridge to view the beautiful blue water of Wizard Falls before returning the same way we came upstream back to the campground.  We stopped to enjoy the e... 04/26/2020

Yesterday, I should’ve been making the rounds viewing new listings on our Sisters’ Broker Tour. Every two weeks, 20 to 30 area agents gather at the community room at Ray’s Food Place at 8:30 in the morning and caravan to a handful of properties to get our first peek at what’s new on the market (we're a small town, so every new listing counts!). During the peak season, we might tour as many as a dozen or so properties over a three-hour period. In the winter months, we often go a month or more without a tour. Now that spring’s here -- bringing with it the beginning of our primary home-selling season -- you’d think that our tour would be picking up speed. Alas, you’d be wrong. We didn’t have a tour yesterday because there weren’t enough new listings to warrant one (only two agents signed u... 04/25/2012

Recently, my RE/MAX office met with Ellen Silfven & Davina Luz of Bank of the Cascades (BOTC). The duo was there to discuss BOTC’s home loan program. The timing of the meeting was no coincidence: Just a few weeks ago, new president/CEO Terry Zink made a very public $1 billion commitment to making loans available to business owners and individuals in the bank’s Oregon and Idaho markets over the next three years. As Zink pointed out, a community bank should invest in its communities, and we couldn’t agree more. Here in Sisters, we’re all ears when it comes to local lending -– we strive to offer our customers as many local home-loan options as possible. So it was encouraging to hear the information that Luz and Silfven shared. Luz, manager of the Sisters BOTC branch, and Silfven, a mortga... 03/18/2012

In November, there were still no major changes in the Sisters real estate market -- just slow, steady progress in a few key areas. First, the number of Active listings continued to decrease (from 174 in October to 161 in November). That's also an improvement over November 2009, when there were176 Active listings. The decrease in listings and overall stronger sales compared to 2009 meant that the inventory of Single Family Residences finally dipped below the 12-month mark -- the first time that Sisters has reached that benchmark since January 2009. (A balanced market has about a six-month inventory). Meanwhile, Residential with Acreage had 17.4 months of inventory in November. So there's still a ways to go before that segment achieves any kind of buyer-seller balance -- but it's a drasti... 12/17/2010

Original photograph of the metal horse sculpture at the Lazy Z Ranch near Sisters, Oregon,  taken by Lisa Broadwater, Broker, GRI; RE/MAX Town & Country Realty, 178 S. Elm, Sisters, OR, 97759. 541-549-3333. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission For more images, visit www.CentralOregonHome4You.com. 11/17/2010

Last month, the Sisters real estate market saw very little change -- from the previous month or the previous October. Which is a good thing, in many ways. Some areas of the country saw a downturn in October, but for the second month in a row, Sisters matched June's sales peak of 16 Closed sales. Like September, the number of Active listings decreased (from 192 to 174 listings). In October 2009, there were 180 Active listings. After experiencing a seasonal increase, the median sales price of Active Single Family Residences decreased in October (from $469,500 in September to $450,000). However, like September, that number is still significantly higher than the median list price at the same time last year ($399,000) -- which is not a good sign since home values have clearly not increased s... 11/13/2010