Clear Lake Hike, Sisters, Oregon
We were visiting some friends in Bend, Oregon and wanted to get outside for a hike. We decided to hike around Clear Lake in the Willamette National Forest, and we started at the Upper McKenzie River Trailhead to add some mileage. This added about two miles total to the hike. There were only a few cars at the trailhead on a Sunday morning. We hiked the McKenzie River trail for about a mile before we came to the intersection with the trail that loops around Clear Lake. We turned left and decided to hike the loop around the lake in a clockwise direction. After seeing no one on the McKenzie River Trail, we started seeing a lot more people on the trail around Clear Lake. I can understand why it’s popular as it certainly lives up to its name and is a beautiful shade of blue. The trail meanders through the trees along the lake and is a great hike for most people as it doesn’t have much change in elevation. We watched families in boats on the lake trying to catch fish (mostly unsuccessfully). We also got to see some beautiful wildflowers. It was a great outing and a lovely hike.
Total Stats: 7.1 miles, 320 ft of elevation gain
