Green Lakes Trail (Three Sisters) Hiking Guide
The Green Lakes Trail climbs beside Fall Creek from the Cascade Lakes Highway to a basin of glacier-green lakes tucked between South Sister and Broken Top. It is one of the most popular day hikes in the Three Sisters Wilderness, which is exactly why it runs on a quota permit in summer and early fall. Here is what you need to book, pay and pack.
Permit: Two separate requirements. From June 15 to October 15 every hiker needs a Central Cascades Wilderness day-use permit for this trailhead, reserved only through Recreation.gov or 1-877-444-6777 for a $1 per-person reservation fee (overnight trips need an overnight permit, $6 per group of up to 12). Year-round, the Green Lakes/Soda Creek Trailhead is a fee site: $5 per vehicle per day, payable on site, or a Northwest Forest Pass or Interagency pass. The wilderness permit does not cover the parking fee.
Up Fall Creek to the Basin
Green Lakes Trail #17 leaves the Green Lakes/Soda Creek Trailhead, enters the wilderness almost immediately and follows Fall Creek north to the lakes; the Forest Service notes it continues beyond them to the pass between South Sister and Broken Top. AllTrails maps the out-and-back to the lakes at 9.3 miles with 1,184 feet of gain and rates it moderate, about four hours of walking. Returning by the Soda Creek Trail makes a 12.6-mile loop with 1,604 feet, per AllTrails. The Forest Service doesn't list a mileage on its trail page.
Booking the Day-Use Permit
This is one of the trailheads where the Central Cascades Wilderness quota applies to day hikers, from June 15 through October 15. Permits come only from Recreation.gov or its call center, not ranger stations. About 40 percent of each day's quota opens 10 days ahead at 7 a.m. Pacific and the rest two days ahead, and you can set an availability alert if your date is full. The cost is the $1 per-person reservation fee. Outside the permit season the quota doesn't apply; AllTrails lists June through October as the best months for this trail.
Parking at the Trailhead
The trailhead is 26.7 miles west of Bend on the Cascade Lakes Highway, with vault toilets, a small area for horse trailers and no drinking water. The $5 daily fee can be paid on site, and a Northwest Forest Pass or Interagency pass covers it instead; the wilderness permit does not. Bring a filter for refills from Fall Creek on the way up.
Camping and Group Rules
Groups are capped at 12 people. Overnight visitors in the Green Lakes basin must camp in a designated site within 15 feet of its numbered post, and campfires are banned above 5,700 feet in the Three Sisters Wilderness, so plan on a liquid or gas stove. Bikes and drones aren't allowed in the wilderness. Wilderness rangers can write tickets for missing permits, starting at $200.
Dogs on the Green Lakes Trail
Dogs may come, but from July 15 through September 15 they must be leashed and under physical control on the Green Lakes Trail, the Soda Creek and Broken Top trails, and in the Green Lakes and Moraine Lake areas. Outside those dates the general wilderness rules apply. Pack out their waste; there are no toilets past the trailhead.
Hiking tips for Green Lakes Trail (Three Sisters)
- Set a phone reminder for 7 a.m. Pacific ten days before your hike date, when the first share of permits opens.
- Carry your permit on your phone or on paper; any Forest Service officer can ask to see it.
- Pay the $5 parking fee or hang your Northwest Forest Pass as well; the permit doesn't cover it.
- Pack a stove; campfires are banned above 5,700 feet in this wilderness.
- Keep dogs leashed from mid-July to mid-September on this trail.
Nearby trails to explore
- Tumalo Mountain Trail
- Tam McArthur Rim Trail
- Tumalo Falls Trail
Hike this trail with TrailMates
Green Lakes permits go fast, and a group can book under one reservation. Use TrailMates to find Bend hikers aiming for the same date and share the drive up the Cascade Lakes Highway. Download TrailMates on the App Store or Google Play to join a group.