A gem near Sisters, Little Three Creek Lake is free, easy to access, virtually unknown

One of the prettiest lakes at the Three Sisters, tucked against the snowy cliffs of Tam McArthur Rim, is also one of the least known. And unlike most trails in the area, you can hike to Little Three Creek Lake at the spur of the moment for free.

The easy 1.6-mile trail doesn’t require advance permits and doesn’t charge a parking fee.

The lake isn’t even that little. It’s a quarter-mile across, in a crater-shaped basin full of wildflower meadows and tumbling brooks. The mosquitoes of early summer suddenly vanish after the third week of July. Instead the air fills with orange and black tortoiseshell butterflies. The lake shallows wriggle with thousands of polliwogs, growing legs so they can emerge as little Cascade toads in September.

Why is Little Three Creek Lake overlooked? The crowds all drive a dusty road to its more famous cousin, Three Creek Lake. There they park their rigs beside a campground beach to paddleboard and picnic.

The last time I hiked along that beach with a backpack and boots a young woman sunning on a towel asked, “Have you been hiking?”

When I admitted that I had, she begged for details. Sunning on a beach can get boring after a while.

Once upon a time there was more to do at Three Creek Lake. A trail connected it to its smaller, less-known cousin. That path has been abandoned and dropped from maps. Signs for the old route have been removed and fallen logs have not, so it’s used only by adventurers.

Instead fresh signs have appeared on two slightly longer trails that can be connected for a 3.5-mile loop. The loop is open to equestrians and mountain bikers, but few use it. They too seem drawn to the crowds at the larger lake. That’s a shame, because the loop explores some terrific subalpine scenery.

To find the recommended trailhead, drive Highway 20 to Sisters. In the middle of downtown, turn right (to the south) on Elm Street, which becomes Forest Service Road 16. Follow this road for 13.9 paved miles and continue on gravel for another 0.8 mile. Just before a large intersection, turn right on Forest Service Road 800 at a sign for the Three Creek Meadow Horse Camp. Down this side road 0.1 mile, at a sign reading “Day Use Area,” park in a pullout on the left.

Two trails set out from here. Save the trail on the left for your return route, if you do a loop. Start instead on the Metolius-Windigo Trail to the right. After 0.2 mile this path seems to head toward a horse campsite on the right. Turn left to find the correct trail, which passes a wilderness permit box and crosses a rushing creek on a wide footbridge. In another 0.1 mile you’ll reach a signed junction. Fork left on the Three Creek Meadow Trail.

At this point your route follows the boundary of a 2012 wildfire. You’ll see burned snags to the right of the trail, but the forest is still green along a creek to the left. The meadows here feature tall blue lupine, the white orchid stalks of ladies tresses, and the startlingly blue thumb-sized trumpets of gentian.

Continue straight to the official trail’s end at Little Three Creek Lake. An old earthen dam that raised the lake level eight feet is slowly being worn away by the outlet creek. Logs allow you to cross the 12-foot-wide creek to explore the lake’s shore to find swimming spots and backpacking campsites.

If you bushwhack around the shore to the left 0.2 mile, stepping over logs and past brush, you’ll reach a campsite where the old trail departs for Three Creek Lake. With some route-finding skills it’s possible to follow the abandoned path 0.8 mile to the end of Driftwood Campground’s road. From there a similarly rough trail can still be followed around Three Creek Lake to the right.

It’s safer to stick to official trails for a loop back to your car. Simply return from Little Three Creek Lake the way you came for half a mile. At a signed X-shaped junction in a big meadow, turn right. After 0.8 mile you’ll reach another signed junction. Turn left here for 0.6 miles back to your car.

The loop to Little Three Creek Lake may seem like one of the best-kept secrets of the Three Sisters, but there’s another that’s even better.

The campground at the trailhead isn’t just for equestrians. The whole southern half, in a creekside meadow where horses aren’t allowed, is gorgeous, spacious and quiet. You can almost always find vacant sites, even on weekends when every other campground near Sisters is packed.

Don’t tell!