Central Cascades Day-Use Permit: Devils Lake/Wickiup (South Sister)

Devils Lake/Wickiup (South Sister): what makes it different

This is the standard trailhead for climbing South Sister, and it carries the biggest day-use quota in the Three Sisters list: 150 people a day.^1,2

Getting to the start

The Forest Service puts the trailhead about 29 miles west of Bend on Cascade Lakes Highway (46); you turn south at the Devil's Lake sign. One hiking guide gives 26 miles, so trust the odometer and the sign over either number.^2,8

The lot sits near Devils Lake and has vault toilets. Parking needs a recreation pass, which the Forest Service prices at $5 per vehicle per day. A walk-in campground with ten sites sits at the same trailhead, free to use but with the same parking pass rule.²

The climbers trail starts across the highway from the lot, at a sign for South Sister Climbers Trail 36. In June 2024 the trailhead was closed for repair, and one skier reported that everyone parked in the overflow area south of the highway next to Devils Lake instead.^8,11

The first leg

The trail leaves the trailhead in forest and enters the Three Sisters Wilderness soon after. The Forest Service lists three trails from this lot: the South Sister Climber Trail, the Devils Lake Trail and the Wickiup Plains Trail.²

A hiking guide says the forest ends after about 1.5 miles at a sandy plain with a four-way crossing. You pass the Moraine Lake turnoff and keep going across Wickiup Plain, which the guide calls soft, flat sand that runs right to the foot of the mountain.⁸

Terrain and difficulty

Distances differ by source. The Outbound guide lists 11.8 miles out and back with 4,900 feet of gain. Wikipedia gives 12.6 miles round trip for the standard south ridge route, from a trailhead at 5,446 feet, to a summit at 10,363 feet.^8,6

Above the plain, cairns lead up rocky ridges to the saddle at Lewis Glacier, where a small blue tarn sits. The guide says the toughest and most exposed climbing starts after that tarn, on wide packed cinder and lava trail.⁸

The true summit lies a short, flat walk beyond the false summit. You go around a snowfield that turns into Teardrop Pool when it melts. Wikipedia calls that pool the highest lake in Oregon, at nearly 10,200 feet.^8,6

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Devils Lake/Wickiup (South Sister), day use: 150 people a day. That is the largest day-use quota of the ten Three Sisters trailheads in the Forest Service table; Green Lake/Soda Creek is next at 90.¹
• 2026 daily quota at Devils Lake/Wickiup (South Sister), overnight (separate Central Cascades overnight permit): 8 groups a day. No other Three Sisters trailhead in the table lists more overnight groups.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

The Forest Service lists Moraine Lakes among the areas with special dog leash restrictions, and this route passes the Moraine Lake junction. Check the posted leash map for the Moraine Lakes area before you bring a dog.²

Where it leads

South Sister itself: the tallest of the Three Sisters at 10,363 feet and the third-highest peak in Oregon. From the top, one guide lists Mount Bachelor to the south and Middle Sister, North Sister and Mount Jefferson to the north.^6,8

A one-day loop from this trailhead is possible: summit, down to the foot of Lewis Glacier, an unofficial route across to Green Lakes, then back by Moraine Lake and the Climbers Trail. One hiker did it in June 2015.⁹

What trip reports say

A guide on The Outbound calls South Sister a good first high-altitude climb. The same writer says a rough season had many rescues of people with the wrong shoes or too little gear, and asks climbers to wear tall boots because the scree floods sneakers.⁸

On Oregon Hikers in June 2015, handle RobinB found the trail across Wickiup Plain as wide as a freeway and everything snow free except a small steep snowfield just below the summit.⁹

In an Oregon Hikers thread from June and July 2009, one hiker found about a foot of snow over much of Wickiup Plains in early June. Another turned back at the plains on July 10. A reply in the same thread reports heavy mosquitoes in July.¹⁰

A Mountain Shop report from June 2024 describes skiing up from this trailhead. Snow still lay in the lot on June 10, post-holing was bad by mid-morning, and mosquitoes came out in force by evening.¹¹

When to go from here

Snow decides the early dates here. In 2009 a Forest Service report quoted on Oregon Hikers said the Climbers Trail might not be mostly clear until the second or third week of July. In 2015 the trail was clear by June 24, so the date moves a lot from year to year.^10,9

The Deschutes County Road Department page read, on the day we checked, that Cascade Lakes Highway and Paulina Road had been open since May 7, 2026. The county posts closure and reopening notices for the highway on that page.⁷

Compare with nearby entry points

• Green Lake/Soda Creek: Green Lake/Soda Creek is 26.7 miles west of Bend on the same highway, but its day-use quota is 90 people against 150 here, and its overnight quota is 7 groups against 8.^3,1
• Broken Top: Broken Top's trailhead is reached by Forest Road 370 and then 380 past Todd Lake, which the Forest Service calls very rugged and best for high-clearance four-wheel drive. Devils Lake is a short turn off the highway. Broken Top's day quota is 45 people.^4,2,1
• Todd: Todd is half a mile up Forest Road 370 from the highway, and the Forest Service says the lake is a quarter mile from the lot. Its day-use quota is 24 people, a small fraction of the 150 at Devils Lake.^5,1

Sources

1. Central Cascades Wilderness Permit System: Quotas for Day Use and Overnight, Deschutes and Willamette National Forests, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Devils Lake/South Sister Trailhead, Deschutes National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Green Lakes/Soda Creek Trailhead, Deschutes National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Broken Top Trailhead, Deschutes National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Todd Lake Day Use Area/Trailhead, Deschutes National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. South Sister, Wikipedia. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Road Department plans seasonal closures for Cascade Lakes Highway and Paulina Lake Road, Deschutes County Road Department. Read 2026-10-15.
8. South Sister via Devil's Lake Trailhead, The Outbound. Read 2026-10-15.
9. South Sister Summit / Green Lakes Loop - June 24, 2015, Oregon Hikers Forum. Read 2026-10-15.
10. South Sister ?, Oregon Hikers Forum. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Trip Report: South Sister Summit via Devil's Lake Trailhead, Mountain Shop. Read 2026-10-15.
12. Central Cascades Wilderness Permits, Willamette National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Devils Lake/Wickiup (South Sister) permit