Golden Lake is Not an Easy Hike

For Central Oregon residents and visitors looking for a great day hike, there are a good number of options available. For many, a hike of 2 to 4 miles to an amazing destination followed by the same distance back can create a full day with time to relax and enjoy both the original destination and the time back home. However, for those wishing to see more in the Cascade forests besides what is seen in a day hike, many will backpack and spend more time enjoying the destination before venturing further or coming back. 

Golden Lake is one of those rarely seen destinations. It can be accessed through multiple approaches. These include the popular Green Lakes Trail in which hikers walk past the northern most Green Lake and travel above the valley to the pass between South Sister and Broken Top and then down the path that leads to Park Meadow, making sure they take the unmarked trail off this path and hike the half mile to Golden Lake. Another approach is from Three Creeks Lake, taking the Park Meadow trail and hiking through and past Park Meadow towards Green Lakes and then taking the unmarked trail to Golden Lake. Both approaches are over seven miles one direction, but the approach from Three Creeks Lake is a little shorter.

Hikers coming from Three Creeks Lake are required to walk through four miles of burned forest, the result of the Milli Fire seven years ago. There is beauty, however, in the recovering forest with many wildflowers and young trees growing back. Past the burned area, hikers enter forest before they reach Park Meadow, which was untouched by fire and a place many backpackers will spend the night. The trail steepens past park Meadow and after another mile and a half, the turn off to Golden Lake is reached.

The name for Golden Lake is obvious during certain times of the year when yellow wildflowers are blooming in the meadow that surrounds the lake. The lake itself can reflect Broken Top, South, Middle and North Sisters on calm days. The setting is serene and lovely with very few people around. 

However, one of the most special things about Golden Lake is the small stream which flows into the western side of the lake. Besides the numerous wildflowers growing on each side of the stream, people who take the time to hike the mile up that stream reach an isolated area that very few people ever visit. That last mile is steep, but the cascading stream with its wildflowers and ever changing views of the Three Sisters are amazing. At the end of the stream is a moraine which contains two springs which form the stream. People who scramble up the moraine will reach an isolated tarn lake and past that, another moraine and a second tarn lake even more special than the first. This second lake has phenomenal reflections and views of Broken Top. For those who are able to travel the entire distance, the reward can be some of the most breathtaking natural sights in Central Oregon. It is truly an exceptional place.

For those having enough energy to do the entire hike in a day starting from and returning to Three Creeks Lake, plan on sixteen miles (eight in the burned forest) and over 2000 feet of elevation gain. 

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.

Roughly two and a half miles into the hike, the burned forest is left and the steep path zigzags through mixed forest and cinder fields. And at three and a half miles, hikers reach the top. The views on a clear day towards The Three Sisters, Broken Top, Mt Jefferson, Mt Washington, and all the hills in McKenzie Pass are fabulous. Plus hikers have the satisfaction of having climbed over 2300 feet to reach the top. The hike down goes faster than the up and many can complete the entire hike, without really pushing, in a little over three hours. 

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 fires have impacted air quality), so the hike to Camp Lake was relatively clear. Views of North and Middle Sister stood out among the dead forest, but it was also interesting to see the new growth in acres of manzanita, grasses, some wildflowers, and young trees.

Tackling the creek (the North Fork of Whychus) can be challenging. In 2024, the natural log bridge which had provided a way across was broken and covered with water.  Hikers need to walk upstream to find a safe place to step across via rocks in order to access the path on the other side of the creek. Past the creek, the hike climbs into new forested and alpine areas, some covered with wildflowers.

Throughout the hike, the views towards North, Middle and South Sister tower over the landscape and seeing them close is  fascinating. Being able to pick out glaciers and streams and evidence of avalanches - along with ski tracks down snowfields from  adventurous daredevils, can create a lot of conversation and wonder.

Arriving at Camp Lake in August, 2024, the weather was windy and cooler than in past years. Many who come this distance will  camp overnight, exploring nearby Chambers Lake or other trails in the area. Some have been observed climbing Middle Sister as  well from the lake. For those who wish to return in a day, after a rest at Camp Lake, the hike back to the Pole Creek Trailhead goes  fairly fast as it is mostly downhill.  Doing the hike in a day will result in 15 miles and around 2150 feet in elevation gain.

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