Broken Top via Crater Ditch Trail (Bend)

Ask most hikers how to access Broken Top mountain in the Three Sisters Wilderness, and you’ll likely be directed to the popular Green Lakes trailhead. Here’s another route that starts higher in elevation from a lesser known point: the Crater Ditch trailhead. True to its name, the trail follows a waterway that channels glacial melt-off, often crossing old rock dams and spillways. The creek becomes more natural higher up, keeping nooks of alpine meadow flowering well into September. The trail climbs about 2000 feet, til you are up close and personal with the craggy crater rim. To get to the trailhead, first decide whose SUV, among your hiking friends, can take the most abuse! Then head up the Cascade Lakes Highway about 20 miles to Todd Lake. Continue through the lot onto the rutted, rugged 370 Rd. Follow less than 3 miles to the first split in the road. Turn left here and follow to the end, where you’ll find the Crater Ditch trailhead.