Green Lakes is One of Central Oregon's Most Beautiful Hiking Destinations

We have hiked to Green Lakes many times over the years, with each visit unique and special.  However, the hike we experienced 10-29-22 has to have been among the very best, something we would call magical. The first snow of the season had fallen earlier in the week, but the day was brilliant with clean, clear air (all summer forest fires finally out due to the snow). The trail was a bit icy, but with microspikes, the packed snow was easy to manage.

The early snow covered a lot of the fall foliage, but Fall Creek with its numerous waterfalls was full and beautiful. And every now and then some lovely fall color could be seen.

When we reached Green Lakes, the handful of people we saw during the hike all traveled to the peninsula on the main, largest lake.  However, we hiked to the first, smaller lake, post-holing through one foot of snow to the far side of the lake which provided us with stunning views of South Sister mirrored in the lake water. We sat on a fallen tree trunk and watched the lake and mountain for 45 minutes, seeing the clouds near South Sister's summit eventually blow away. During this time, we didn't see another person. On our return to the main trail, the views of Broken Top were the best we had ever seen from Green Lakes. It was truly a magical day.