Three Creek Meadow Horse Camp, Three Sisters Wilderness, Oregon

Long long ago, before I lived in Central Oregon I camped at Three Creeks and was completely enamored by it. Now it is about a 45 minute drive from my house and I can go on up and do the rides anytime. If you are looking for an area with a lot of scenery, and with trails that are not difficult, this is the place to be.

Park Meadow.

To get there: From Sisters OR take Elm St. south for 15 miles. This road is paved up until the last mile or so which is pretty rough. When you see a large meadow on your right this is part of the people campground. Rather than turning there, continue up the gravel road briefly and just after a horse crossing sign, take a right. This will take you into the day use area and then through to the horse camp.

Three Creek Meadow Horse Camp entrance.

The day use area at Three Creek Meadow Horse Camp.

Three Creek Meadow has 9 spots with log corrals, and you can make reservations. Some of the sites are big enough for larger rigs, but not all.
There is a day use area, two different water troughs for stock, a bathroom, garbage cans, a bottle and can recycling barrel, and two large dumpsters for manure with ramps so you can push wheelbarrows up into them. There is no potable water. It is $14.00 per night, and there is a camp host nearby in the people campground. If you continue up the road past the camp you will happen upon Three Creek Lake which is a nice place for visiting or swimming after a ride on a hot day. Update: This horse camp has been officially closed, due to staffing challenges, all summer of 2022. That does not mean you cannot camp there, it just means it is free, for the time being, but services may be limited.

Three Creek Lake.

As of June 20th 2016 they are enforcing that no one other than horse people can use this camp. There are barriers across the two loop roads that you can move to drive around, if you are indeed a horse person.
Some friends of mine camped here last summer and since they have a bigger rig they knew exactly which spot they were hoping to get into. Upon arriving they found a man with a tent, and no horses, camping in the spot they wanted, so knowing that this can no longer happen (hopefully) is a great thing.

Barriers so non horse folks are no longer allowed into the camp.

Corrals at Three Creek Meadow Horse Camp.

To do the ride from Three Creeks to Park Meadow, Golden Lake and Green Lakes, leave camp from the message board behind site #12 and take the trail to the far right after crossing the creek....the other trail that leaves from there will get you there eventually as well, but it is a longer version.
The first part of this trail will be through a burn area from a fire in 2012.

The creek behind spot #12. The trail begins here.

Still not much growth in the burned area.

You will get to the first  junction, take a leftContinue along the trail, and soon there will be another junction where there will be signs pointing towards Park Meadow, which is the correct way.

These have been replaced by yours truly and FCCW in the summer of 2019.

Once you get to Park Meadow enjoy the lovely view of Broken Top and continue on from there following signs pointing towards Green Lakes.

Kate enjoys the view from Park Meadow.

Happy puppy, cooling off in the creek at Park Meadow.

You will start climbing after the meadow and not too far along there is another unsigned trail to the left with a cairn on the ground. This is the trail to Golden Lake and if you just wanted to ride to Park Meadow and then over to Golden Lake it would be a 12 mile ride.

Golden Lake.

Golden Lake is a beautiful destination but if you want to extend this ride a little longer you can continue past the lake another mile, and climb up to the two tarns that sit below Broken Top.
If you like to ride cross country, and want a bit of an adventure, you can continue past the tarns and loop back over to what was once the Snow Creek Trail. This trail is actually still intact near the top, but once you drop down into the burn area, you will have to bushwack back to the main trail. Perhaps not everybody's cup of tea, so maybe just enjoy the pictures I took instead!

One of the tarns above Golden Lake.

Riding cross country towards the Snow Creek Trail.

Broken Top from the Snow Creek Trail.

If you bypass Golden Lake, and stay on the trail towards Green Lakes, you will then be passing right by South Sister, with Broken Top on your left. And then the descent begins into the Green Lakes area.

North and Middle Sister.

South Sister.

If you don't mind a longer ride, this is 17 miles total and is a much better alternative to getting into Green Lakes than from the overpopulated trailhead on Cascade Lakes Hwy. Although there are designated horse trailer parking areas there, the trail has become so popular that getting a parking spot can be tricky even during the week.


Once at Green Lakes you can explore the area for awhile, and then retrace your steps back the same way.

Green Lakes with Mt. Bachelor on the left.

Green Lakes.

South Sister from Green Lakes.

Another great ride to do is the Tam McArthur Rim Trail and there is more than one way to do this. The longer less scenic way or the shorter more scenic way, or a combination of both.
The trailhead which is at Three Creek Lake is not recommended for stock, but it is not impassable. There is what used to be a big patch of shale that I would skirt by heading uphill around it. Now the shale has been mostly scattered off the trail, by many years of hikers boots. Underneath it there are a couple of technical rocky sections. I personally prefer this way since you can detour onto the Metolius Windigo Trail on the way back and make it into a loop. Or if technical is not your thing, then just ride the Met Win Trail out and back. New signs have been installed so it is easier to do the longer version than it once was. Once you get to the rim, the trail officially ends, but you can ride another mile or so along the red cinder with great close up views of Broken Top, as well as all of the other mountains, and if it is a clear day, Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams are also visible.

The rocky section of the hiker trail, not impassable, but not recommended for stock.

Tam McArthur Rim from the hiker trail.

Terraka's photo of me on the Tam McArthur Rim Trail.

Riding on the Tam McArthur Rim Trail.

There is also a short but scenic loop ride over to Little Three Creek Lake. You can do this from the day use area or from the other trail I mentioned before that goes to the left behind site #12.

Little Three Creek Lake.

The Tam McArthur Rim on the way to Little Three Creek Lake.

All these rides are stunning!

Happy Trails!

GPS COORDINATES TO THREE CREEK MEADOW