Oregon’s Painted Hills - Complete Visitor’s Guide
A visit to Central Oregon’s Painted Hills feels like stepping onto Mars. Delicate layers of sediment reflect millions of years of geological history with unusual clarity and beauty. Rightly called one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon, the Painted Hills have a kind of magic about them. The vibrant and surreal colors of the hills vary so much with rain, light, and season that they never look quite the same no matter how many times you visit. Here I breakdown everything you need to know to plan your trip to one of my favorite places in Oregon.
Getting there:
The Painted Hills are about 4 hours southeast of Portland. The drive will take you through the Cascade Mountains and then into the high desert of Central Oregon. Take Highway 26 East until you’re almost to the park. Then, turn left onto Burnt Ranch Road. If you reach Mitchell, Oregon, you’ve gone too far. Continue on Burnt Ranch Road for about 10 miles to reach the Painted Hills. There will be signs along the way, but no cell phone reception.
If you’re coming from Bend, Oregon, take Highway 97 North to Highway 26 East. Follow Highway 26 until the left turn onto Burnt Ranch Road.
If you’re lucky enough to be coming from John Day in the east, follow Highway 26 West through the unique basalts of the Picture Gorge. Turn right onto Burnt Ranch Road a few miles after Mitchell.
Watch out for cows in the road! They had a kind of proprietary attitude about it on my last visit.
Where to stay:
The tiny town of Mitchell, Oregon (population 170) has the closest lodging and restaurants to the Painted Hills at around 20 minutes away. It is tourist friendly and has a kind of Old West feel.
Alternatively, Prineville is about an hour away and is a larger sized town with more lodging and restaurant options.
Personally, I would stay in Bend. It’s about 2 hours away from the Painted Hills, but there are tons of things to do, great bars and restaurants, and easy access to fantastic hikes nearby.
Camping:
While you cannot camp directly at the Painted Hills, there are campgrounds nearby. Here are a few options:
Priest Hole Recreation Site is on BLM land. There isn’t a fee to stay. Amenities are pretty minimal, but there is a toilet. To reach it, continue on Burnt Ranch Road instead of taking the left turn toward the Painted Hills.
Mitchell City Park in downtown Mitchell offers camping ($25/night RV’s or $12/night tents). There are restrooms, picnic tables, and a water spigot.
A little farther away, the Ochoco Divide Campground has first come, first serve spots for $13/night in the Ochoco National Forest. There are restrooms and water. It’s on Highway 26 between Mitchell and Prineville, about 40 minutes from the Painted Hills.
Cost and parking:
The Painted Hills are free to visit! You do not need a permit or pass. There is a unpaved road that connects the parking lots for the points of interest. The road is in good condition and accessible to low clearance vehicles. Note that RV’s and other large vehicles are not recommended past the Painted Hills Overlook.
Restrooms:
There are restrooms near the entrance to the Painted Hills. It would be a good idea to stop there before heading farther into the park because there are none at the trailheads. When you enter the Painted Hills, you will reach a fork in the road. Go left for the restrooms or right for the Painted Hills Overlook and other trails. The are also a few picnic tables near the restrooms.
Know before you go:
There is very little shade at the Painted Hills. Bring sunscreen and lots of water.
Amenities in the park are minimal. Plan on being as self sufficient as possible. Bring snacks and pack out all trash.
There is no cell phone reception. It is pretty easy to navigate the park by following the signs, but offline maps are a good idea, too.
Dogs are allowed.
The roads in the Painted Hills are narrow, winding, and not very good for RV’s. The National Parks Service recommends not taking RV’s or large vehicles past the Painted Hills Overlook.
Don’t hurt the dirt! This park slogan protects the fragile and unique environment of the Painted Hills. You’ll see a few places where people have clearly walked off the paths and onto the hills. There are footprints that remain long afterward. Please stay on the trails!
The appearance of the hills changes based on time of day and sunlight. The most interesting light will be late in the day before sunset. I’ve seen some images online where the hills look almost fluorescent. Know that although the colors are dramatic and striking, it is still a desert color palette. If you see pictures where the colors look neon, chances are the saturation has been cranked up.
The Painted Hills will also look different based on season. April through November is the best time to visit to avoid the chance of snow. Spring brings some muted greens into the surrounding landscape. Look for wildflowers from April until October, peaking around late April to May. The amount and timing of blooms varies quite a bit from year to year. Spring and fall are good times to visit to avoid the heat.
About the hills:
The Painted Hills are one of three areas, or “units,” in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, along with the Clarno and Sheep Rock units. While all the units are worth visiting, they are not particularly close together and I would treat each unit as its own excursion. If you are only visiting one, I would definitely suggest the Painted Hills. The sediment layers of the hills are so distinct that it becomes irresistible to picture millions of years of history.
The geologic story of the Painted Hills begins around 40 million years ago before the Cascade Mountains formed. The oldest sediments are at the base of the hills. The color layers reflect the environmental conditions of the area over time. The colors themselves come from elements in the layers, like the manganese-rich black deposits in the hills.
Current thinking is that this area of Central Oregon was once tropical, lushly forested, and rich with animal life. Fossils of palm fronds have been found, suggesting a warm climate. The ecology of this time period, as well as millions of years of weathering, contributed to the iron-rich brick reds found at the Painted Hills.
Later, volcanic activity sent out clouds of ash and lava flows that dramatically changed the landscape. Red clay soil sits under silica-rich volcanic ash, which often looks buff-colored.
Yellow soils reflect cooler, drier conditions. When the Cascade Mountains formed, they created a rain shadow that altered the climate and vegetation of the area. They still contribute to the dry conditions of Central Oregon today. The Painted Hills represent the end product of millions of years of environmental change and weathering, preserved in the sediment layers of the hills. Unlike many parts of Oregon, this history has not been covered up by younger volcanic rocks.
I am usually a shameless skipper of informational park signs, but I would recommend reading the interpretive information at the Painted Hills. It adds interesting context to the sights you’ll see there.
What to see:
Although there are technically 5 hiking trails in the Painted Hills, most are short enough to be more like viewpoints. If you do them all, the total distance is about 3 miles. There are stops along the road with parking lots at each trailhead. Pick one end of the park and work your way through. Stops will be clearly marked with signs. Here are the things to see at the Painted Hills starting from the closest to the park entrance:
Painted Hills Overlook
The easy, 0.5-mile out-and-back Painted Hills Overlook Trail is my favorite part of the park. I like to start here as a reward for finishing the drive out, but you might want to save it for the finale. A gentle climb takes you up a trail surrounded by an otherworldly landscape of yellow, red, and black. Look for delicate wildflower blooms along the trail in spring.
Carroll Rim Trail
See the Painted Hills from above! The 1.6-mile out-and-back Carroll Rim Trail is the only hike in the park that may have you feeling out of breath - but it’s worth it for the views! Across the gravel road from the Painted Hills Overlook, you’ll see a sign for the Carroll Rim Trail. There are a few parking spots near the trailhead, or you can walk from the Painted Hills Overlook parking if they’re full.
The Carroll Rim Trail is a steady, rewarding climb up a slope across from the Painted Hills that gives the best views of the hills as a whole, as well as the surrounding landscape. Once you get up the hill, whole new vistas appear on the other side, including the Painted Cove in the distance.
Be careful on this trail if it’s hot. There is no shade, but plenty of uphill walking.
Painted Cove Trail
The 0.25-mile loop Painted Cove Trail is probably the best known attraction in the Painted Hills, and the one that shows up most often in social media pictures. Its fame is well deserved as it showcases the astounding variety of colors in the Painted Hills up close and personal. Start at a boardwalk through brick red mounds that transition to yellow and even lavender.
Leaf Hill Trail
If you love fossils, this 0.25-mile easy loop trail is for you. The trail will take you past piles of fossil rocks sitting right next to it. Look for the traces of ancient plants and animals from worlds gone by. Please do not remove any rocks or fossils. Others will want to enjoy the abundance in the future.
Red Hill Trail
The flat, easy, 0.25-mile out-and-back Red Hill Trail takes you up close to Red Hill, a cone of contrasting red and yellow. This trail is a great for appreciating the variety of sediment layers of the Painted Hills. Although you will get quite close to Red Hill, please stay on the hill and do not disturb the dirt.
Enjoy your trip to the Painted Hills!
With love,
Emma
Looking for more to do in the area? Stop by Bend, Oregon! For post-hiking drinks, visit one of the many excellent breweries or check out the best wine bars in Bend. For more amazing Central Oregon geology, visit Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
In case you get as excited as me about local geology, here’s my reference for the About section:
Garrett, S., & Youtie, B. (1992). The Painted Hills: Thirty million years of phytogeography.
