The Three Pyramids

  • Moderate
  • 4 miles round trip
  • 1800 feet elevation gain
  • Open late June through October


Like a smaller version of the Three Sisters, this trio of ancient volcanic plugs rises in a dramatic cluster above the Old Cascades. To be sure, the Three Pyramids are only half as tall as the more famous mountain triplets, and are not draped with glaciers. But pretty, U-shaped glacial valleys remain from the Ice Age. Today, a short but strenuous section of the Old Cascades Crest Trail climbs the Middle Pyramid, switchbacking up a wildflower-spangled ridge to a former lookout tower site where the panorama stretches from Mt. Hood all the way to Diamond Peak.

To find the trailhead from Salem, …

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The 27-mile Old Cascades Crest Trail connects this trail with …

This chapter is an excerpt from 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Central Oregon Cascades.