When I did this hike in 2017 there was not a permit system in place, which has changed since then. On this blog post I will share all the details on how to hike South Sister in a day, what to expect, and my experiences.
Hiking South Sister: An Epic Adventure
Where is South Sister?
About 4 hours from Portland and just an under an hour from Bend, Oregon, South Sister is one of the most popular hikes to do in the Cascade Lakes area of the Deschutes National Forest. Tucked between North and Middle Sister, South Sister is the “easiest” one for people to hike.
The hike starts at the Devils Lake Trailhead, a parking lot that can quickly fill up. We arrived before sunrise and got the last parking spot.
Hiking South Sister
If you are looking to hike South Sister, you will need to get a permit to do so. They added the permit system to lessen the amount of people hiking the trail at the same time. When I went it was quite busy, and we saw many people hiking without being prepared for the conditions.
Miles: 11.6
Elevation: 4,986 feet
Permit: Permits are required June 15- October 15th. You can apply in advance to get Cascade Wilderness Permits on April of the summer prior. They release 40% of overnight permits in April, while the rest are available seven days before a trip start date. Overnight permits are $6 per group. Day use permits two rolling windows: 10 days and then 2 days before the trip date, and they are $1 per person.
Dogs: Allowed on leash. I did not bring my dogs due to the lava rock at the top of the trail can cut dogs paws. There is also not much water access on the way up, so I didn’t want to carry more water than what I needed.
Difficulty: Difficult
My Experience Hiking South Sister
We set out to hike this trail in one day since we didn’t have permits to backpack. We slept at a dispersed campsite along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway and made it to the Devils Lake parking lot before sunrise. To our surprise there were numerous cars and a pretty full parking lot already. From here you hike the South Sister Climbers Trail to begin your climb.
The hike starts out with a steep incline through the forest before reaching a dry exposed area. Most of the trail is exposed, so be sure to prepare with sunblock and plenty of water. As we hiked up the views got better and better. Seeing people camped in this area inspired me to want to come back and do this one day.
Summit Push
As we reached the Lewis Glacier we were out of water. This is something we were not prepared for as we assumed there would be places to fill up water along the way. While there are lakes along the way, sometimes there are algae blooms so I was uncertain this water was safe to drink. I had 3L of water and had drank all of it as we reached the glacier. It is a little hike to get down to the water of the glacier but this was my favorite part of the hike next to reaching the summit.
After we filled up on water with our filters, we started the climb up the loose lava rock. Hiking up lava is three steps forward, two steps back. It is loose and not enjoyable. I suggest wearing gaiters like I did as this will prevent rocks from going into your boots. After we reached the top of the lava rock territory, the hike flattens out before the summit into the crater of the volcano. This portion was covered in snow. As we hiked around the rim we were greeted with endless views into the valley below. After hiking for about 20 more minutes we reached the edge of the crater rim with some of the most beautiful views.
We enjoyed the view with lunch as we were swarmed with butterflies. Truly a magical experience!
Tips
I learned a lot as a hiker on this trail from my own experience.
-Have the right hiking boots: I saw people doing this hike in sandals, and got cut by the lava rock.
-Bring a water filter and a back up SteriPen- my water bladder for my filter broke on lava rock at the glacier, so luckily we were able to borrow somebody else’s filter to fill up before descending down.
-Start early-with how exposed this trail is, you can truly never start early enough. It got extremely hot once we got to the top of this trail, making us drink more water than we had carried.
Have you hiked South Sister? I would love to hear about your experience in the comments.
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