Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Sure, you've heard of the Painted Hills, but how much do you know about the other attractions inside the sprawling John Day Fossil Beds?
Comprised of three distinct units, the fossil beds – found in central Oregon – contain tons of natural oddities, historic sites and educational resources that, when combined, paint a picture that’s far more colorful than just the Painted Hills.
The Painted Hills Unit and Sheep Rock Unit are conveniently located off U.S. Route 26, between Prineville and John Day, while the Clarno Unit is found farther north on Oregon Route 218 west of Fossil. You can see it all in a single day, but you’d be better off staying at one of the many campgrounds and taking time to explore the various sights found within.
The Painted Hills remains the main attraction – Travel Oregon named it one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon for good reason – but if you're going to drive all the way out into these reaches of the high desert, you might as well see what else the colorful fossil beds have to offer.
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
1. Painted Hills Overlook
The most famous of all viewpoints in the fossil beds, the Painted Hills Overlook shows off the beloved Painted Hills, accessible via an easy, half-mile gravel trail. You can get a broader panoramic view, if you like, across the road on the Carroll Rim Trail, which is a 1.6-mile round-trip hike.
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
2. Painted Cove Trail
The only other trail in the Painted Hills Unit that’s really worth your time is the Painted Cove Trail, a short .25-mile hike best known for its rust-red hills and a boardwalk that runs through them. There are few places on Earth that look so much like Mars.
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
3. Blue Basin
If not for the Painted Hills, the Blue Basin would be the main attraction at the fossil beds. The blue-green canyon of claystone badlands is otherworldly, with a hue that changes with the sun and can’t seem to be properly captured in a photograph. You can hike the 1.3-mile trail into the heart of the canyon or take the 3.25-mile trek up and around it.
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
4. Foree
Two small trails lead to two distinctly fascinating features at Foree, found in the northernmost part the Sheep Rock Unit. The Flood of Fire Trail is a half-mile hike to a dramatic and colorful cliff face, while the Story in Stone Trail leads .3 miles around more blue-green claystone formations.
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
5. Picture Gorge
The Picture Gorge is really a drive-through attraction, seen along the side of U.S. Route 26 on either side of the entrance to the Sheep Rock Unit. Here, the cliffs above the John Day River rise up in strange shades of purple, red and brown. There are a few small pull-outs if you want to stop for a better look.
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
6. Condon Paleontology Center
The fossil beds are colorful on the outside, but what’s truly incredible is the cache of fossils found within them. The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center is the place to learn all about the fascinating history of the area, which was once a lush, tropical climate home to many species of ancient mammals.
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
7. Historic Cant Ranch
In 1910, Scottish immigrants James and Elizabeth Cant settled on 700 acres of land along the John Day River, establishing a ranch in what is now the Sheep Rock Unit of the fossil beds. Staffed hours at the historic ranch house are limited, but you can still walk the grounds, where a mile of trails runs past old buildings and farm equipment in the shadow of Sheep Rock.
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
8. Clarno Unit
Unlike the other two units of the fossil beds, Clarno is isolated up on Oregon Route 218, between the small towns of Antelope and Fossil. It also has only a small trail system that’s one mile in total, but the dirt paths wind below some stunning cliffs and rock formations, leading to fossils of ancient leaves pressed into boulders.
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
NORTHWEST TRAVEL GUIDES
Oregon's 47 wilderness areas: If you really want to get away from it all, get to one of Oregon's remote wilderness areas.
New Tillamook Cheese Factory: Take a look at the brand new visitors center at the Tillamook Cheese Factory – er, Tillamook Creamery.
Twin Pillars hike: The trail to central Oregon's Twin Pillars leads through the jarring scene of a fire-scarred wilderness.
--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB
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