Introduction
The United States Congress designated the Three Sisters Wilderness (
map) in 1964 and it now has a total of
281,190 acres.
All of this wilderness is located in
Oregon and is managed by the Forest Service.
The Three Sisters Wilderness is bordered by
the
Mount Washington Wilderness to the north and the
Waldo Lake Wilderness to the south.
Description
The high, snowcapped Three Sisters (North Sister at 10,085 feet, Middle Sister at 10,047 feet, and South Sister at 10,358 feet) embellish the eastern side of this Wilderness, the second largest in Oregon. If you include Broken Top at 9,175 feet just to the south, you have 14 glaciers offering perhaps the best example of the effects of glaciation in the Pacific Northwest. Collier Glacier, between North and Middle Sister, is the largest sheet of ice in Oregon. Here is a fabulous volcanically formed landscape of lava fields, waterfalls, alpine meadows, lakes and streams teeming with brook and rainbow trout, and a lush forest of Douglas fir, silver fir, subalpine fir, mountain hemlock, western hemlock, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, and true fir. The headwaters of the Wild and Scenic Squaw Creek likewise emerge here. Only State Highway 242 separates Three Sisters Wilderness from Mount Washington Wilderness to the north. Waldo Lake Wilderness shares the southern boundary. You'll find about 260 miles of trails, including 40 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail running north-south, and human traffic in multitudes estimated to exceed every other Wilderness in the state. Green Lakes, Obsidian, Sunshine, Erma Bell Lakes, and the climbing trail to South Sister are especially used and abused. The Chambers Lakes Trail leads 7.1 miles from Pole Creek to Chambers Lakes, all the while encompassed by the dramatic glaciers of South and Middle Sister, where ice can appear year-round, the growth is limited to wind-twisted pines, and the rock-rimmed beauty will take your breath away.
