Sisters seems like an odd name for a town - until you actually go through it and look to the south. There, rising above, are the majestic Three Sisters peaks along with suitor Mt. Bachelor and, perhaps the victim of a fight with the sisters, Broken Top. All are volcanic peaks that are part of the Cascades "ring of fire," although the last big eruption of any of them occurred about 2,000 years ago. The area where the town is located is on the east side of the Santiam Pass, so it was settled by Native Americans and early European pioneers. The town site is flat, so this 2.3 mile walk has no significant ups and downs. The city is rapidly growing, increasing from 959 to 2,038 between 2000 and 2010. The nice little downtown, rustic looking residential neighborhoods, and spectacular scenery are worth a visit!
The walk starts at Sisters Creekside Park, located at the intersection of Locust Street and Jefferson Avenue. If you cross the grassy area near the intersection you will come to this covered park bridge over Whychus Creek which leads to the Sisters Municipal Campground. After looking at the bridge turn around and head back to the intersection of Jefferson and Locust.
Go north on Jefferson one block and then turn left onto Washington Avenue. After three blocks on Washington turn right onto Spruce Street. This part of Sisters is a mixture of eclective residential architecture, such as this residence which includes a perch.
Continue three blocks on Spruce Street, crossing Cascade Avenue. This is Sisters' "main street," but it also serves as State Route 20, the route to and over the Santiam Pass. The city and the Oregon Department of Transportation have worked mightily to reconcile the fact that is roadway serves two very different purposes. Perhaps fortunately, the "main street" has won out, and traffic through the town slows and stops so as not to ruin the street atmosphere.
At Spruce and Main Avenue, to the right is
The Belfry. This 1914 church building has been repurposed as an event venue for concerts and other occasions. It's a great example of adaptive reuse.
Turn left on Main Avenue. On the left is
Fir Street Park, which just opened in 2014. The small wooden bandstand is a contrast to a large controversial city amphitheater project elsewhere in town that was
dropped in 2014.
Turn left on Fir Street and head back toward Cascade Avenue. On the corner of Fir and Cascade, to the right is Bronco Billy's Saloon, located in the old Sisters Hotel Building constructed in 1912. After many years as a community fixture, the saloon
abruptly closed in 2015, for reasons that remain mysterious.
Cross Cascade Avenue and turn right for three blocks on the south side of the street. In the middle of this stretch is a nice little rest area to the left with some interesting statuary. There is also a public restroom off to the left beyond the statuary.
Turn left on Oak Street to leave the Sisters "main drag" and after one block turn right onto Hood Avenue. This is the "secondary" Main Street of Sisters, with some more shops. One of the shops, on the right, is Miss Sew-it-all, in this funky building.
After one block on Hood Avenue turn left onto Pine Street, after one block on Pine turn right on Washington Avenue, after one block on Washington turn left onto Cottonwood Street, and then after one block on Cottonwood turn right onto Jefferson Avenue. All of these streets contain older, more modest homes, but Jefferson Avenue provides a transition to a newer and much more luxurious section of the city. The trees that predominate in the old part of town are much scarcer here, the better to enhance the views of the mountain peaks to the south and west.
Continue on Jefferson to Pine Meadow Street. At the end of Jefferson there is a direct view of
Mt. Washington. This peak is more than 7,800 feet high and last erupted about 1,300 years ago.
Turn left on Pine Meadow and walk to the end of the street, where it meets Hope Avenue. Ahead is a beautiful view of the Three Sisters, for which this town is named. The three mountains are also unofficially known as "Hope," "Faith," and "Charity," They are all slightly taller than 10,000 feet.
Turn left onto Hope Avenue and then turn left again onto Cottonwood Street. Along with the beautiful mountain views this neighborhood of town includes some impressive-looking homes, of which this is one example on Cottonwood.
Turn right on St. Helens Avenue and head back into the older, wooded part of Sisters. After three blocks turn left on Ash Street, and then after one block right on Jefferson Avenue. At the corner of Jefferson and Elm is the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District station, an imposing structure built in 1980, and an important institution in this community.
On the next block to the left is Village Green Park, a pleasant space that has been a centerpiece for the community for quite a while. Among other events it hosts the
Sisters Folk Festival every September.
Continue east on Jefferson. The rustic neighborhood includes a few vacation rental homes, such as this one, the Fish Inn Bike Inn, on the left.
Continue on Jefferson to Locust Street and Sisters Creekside Park, where the walk began.
