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 Meadow Loop (2.5 miles).  The Wagon Road follows a portion of the historic Santiam Wagon Road and includes interpretive signs which discuss the Santiam toll road which was the way early settlers in Oregon traveled back and forth from the Willamette Valley to Central Oregon in the 1860s. 

If you plan on hiking in the Whychus Canyon Preserve, come early as there is limited parking; off road parking is not permitted and dogs must be kept on leash.

Chush Falls is a Stunning Central Oregon Waterfall

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 portion 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 which we found throughout the trail was the multiple fallen trees which had to be navigated in order to continue with the hike.

After crossing a couple of small creeks, getting lost due to a large fallen tree blocking the path, we climbed roughly 800 feet in elevation until we reached the overlook for Chush Falls. Trees blocked most of the view from the overlook, so we climbed down the steep hillside, dodging tree limbs and walking around boulders to reach Whychus Creek and walked up the stream until we reached the base of Chush Falls. It was truly a winter wonderland with ice and snow creating a stunning sight. 

Probably one of the most popular hikes in Central Oregon is the trail from Century Drive via Fall Creek up to Green Lakes in the Three Sisters Wilderness.  This nine mile round trip gains 1500 feet elevation, crossing the creek three times, but is relatively easy to moderate for most hikers.  Hundreds of people will take this hike on sunny summer days and the enjoyment of the beauty of Green Lakes is one of the "must dos" for many Central Oregon visitors.  During our years in Central Oregon, we have taken this hike often and have enjoyed the experience every time, despite the increased traffic on the trail.

Last Saturday we decided to hike the alternative trail to Green Lakes.  This trail starts at the same parking lot as the Fall Creek trail, but instead travels via Soda Springs up the south side of Broken Top.  We had never hiked this trail before and really enjoyed the unexpected views and relatively few people we saw in the early part of the hike.  We started the hike at 7:40 am and for the first few miles, we believe we were the first and only people on the trail that morning. The trail joins with one coming from Todd Lake which eventually splits from the Green Lakes trail to the trail to hike Broken Top to No Name Lake. We saw a number of people taking this trek and debated whether or not Broken Top should be our destination, but decided to stay with our original plan and traveled to Green Lakes. In this stretch of the trail we saw a number of people hiking from Green Lakes, either with Broken Top as their destination or the Soda Springs trailhead we had started from. 

Once we reached Green Lakes, we enjoyed the views for a while before returning to our car via the traditional Fall Creek trail. We passed hundreds of people coming up this trail as we hiked down. Next year Green Lakes will be accessible by permit only which should limit the numbers visiting this beautiful location. Hiking to Green Lakes via Soda Springs increased our trek by roughly three very enjoyable miles and we look forward to taking this hike again - but this next time to Broken Top.

Popular Tumalo Falls is Among Most Tourists' Must See Destinations

Tumalo Falls has always been a destination for people visiting Central Oregon. The short drive out of Bend followed by a short walk can give tourists the opportunity to see a beautiful local waterfall and the location of roughly 1/2 of Bend's water supply. Most people stop at either the base of the falls, or will climb the 1/4 mile up to the overlook at the top of the falls. But there is a fabulous trail upstream along Tumalo Creek that takes hikers past several beautiful waterfalls and eventually leads to Happy Valley meadow in which a merger of several trails and roads provide for miles of opportunities to recreate using the Tumalo Trail System.

It has been seven years since we last hiked to Tumalo Falls.  That last time the road to the falls was closed due to the piping project for the the city of Bend in the Bridge Creek watershed. At that time we parked at Skyliner's Trailhead and hiked around to Tumalo Falls and then hiked up Bridge Creek, eventually joining with the main North Fork Trail just south of Happy Valley returning down the main trail and eventually back to our car.  During that trip we saw almost no one.

It was very different September 26, 2020. Parking along the road was crowded and rather than hike the normal way up the North Fork Trail, we decided to take the loop around using the Farewell Trail which starts on the east side of the Falls and switchbacks up the hill bordering Tumalo Falls on the east, eventually joining with Mrazek Trail, then to Metolius-Windego Trail and then in Happy Valley, connecting with the North Fork Trail; the whole hike was slightly more than 10 miles and gave us a much different perspective of the area.

Unlike our last experience seven years ago, however, we were very surprised at how busy the trail was - not with hikers, but with mountain bikers. During our 10 mile loop, we stepped aside multiple times as mountain bikers passed by. We estimate we saw over 100 bikers that day and obviously during the summer season, there must be many, many more that will ride over these trails. The Tumalo Trail System borders the Three Sisters Wilderness where bicycles are not allowed and the system is extremely extensive and must be well enjoyed by the mountain bike community in Central Oregon.

Last Saturday, August 29th, we decided to take an easier hike to Sisters Mirror Lake.  Located just south of Devil's Lake off South Century Drive, the Sisters Mirror Lake trail head has limited parking space, but we easily found a spot on the highway.  The 3 plus mile hike into Sisters Mirror Lake was a fairly easy walk in old growth forest with an elevation gain of between 600 and 700 feet. The lake itself is one of a series of small high elevation lakes, each with its own charm and privacy. We saw just a few people on this trip - many with packs to spend the night.

After enjoying visiting the various lakes, including Lancelot, Camelot, Needle and several unnamed lakes and snacking on wild blueberries that were at their peak of ripeness, we traveled on the Pacific Crest Trail, which skirts Sisters Mirror Lake, to Wickiup Plains having heard that the Plains provide wonderful South Sister views.  That statement was proven true when we stepped out of the old growth forest and saw South Sister. The south side of South Sister rises dramatically up from the Wickiup Plains and dominates the skyline. The view is truly magnificent and with each step closer to the Wickiup Point, the view grew larger. 

We took the Wickiup loop back, connecting with the Devil's Lake trail before taking the Elk Lake trail back to connect with the Sisters Mirror Lake trail roughly 1/2 a mile before the parking lot. Wonderful views of Broken Top were visible on this part of our hike before we entered the old growth forest again. All in all, our relatively easy hike ended up being in excess of 12 miles - but it was well worth it for the wonderful surprises we saw.  We have lived in Bend since 1985 but have never heard of Wickiup Plains before. What a surprise!