john day fossil beds national monument

Lovely hikes for all levels and dramatic geology. The information center has a wonderful museum. Just down the road is Cant Ranch with a great picnic area.

The National Monument is composed of several different sites that are all different but interesting. We didn't have as much time as we would have liked, but the visitor center is great- lots of fossils and information. We then went to the Painted Hills site, which was beautiful and unlike anything I'd seen before. Beautiful place.

From Bend it's about 2.5 hours drive, but well worth the journey to see one of Oregon's natural wonders. I arrived at the Painted Hills in the afternoon and spent about 4 hours hiking and admiring the landscape. The painted hills look so soft like velvet but it's actually a rough clay. How the light interacts with the clay is amazing. The colors are more vibrant in the afternoon sunlight. I hiked up Carol Rim which is a fairly short but steep walk up to the plateau overlooking the valley: Amazing. I saved the Painted Hill walk for last close to sunset. It's a short walk about half mile to watch the hills come alive. I went in the beginning of March and did not pay a fee. Just watch out for the cows in the road especially at dusk. They should post signs saying free ranging cows.

There are so many parts of the John Day Fossil Beds, and they each are so fascinating. the museum at the Visitors Center was very informative about the history of the area. the Painted Desert was beautiful. We spent four days in the area exploring each day. We could have easily spent many more days.

We went to visit this area of Oregon without knowing quite what to expect. The solitude and beauty were spectacular. All of the units we visited were worth the time, but if you only have time for one, see the visitor center and the blue basin. There is both an easy trail through the bottom of the basin which is spectacular, and one that has a moderate climb that follows the rim (see picture). This stop was a highlight of our 10-day trip to see scenic and historic Oregon.

Center your chi while taking in other-worldly views at the Painted Hills (a feng shui power center). Sheep Rock is another amazing landscape. We saw a small herd of mule deer grazing on a ridge above the paleontology center then went inside to take in tens of millions of years of evolution from the fossil record on display. If traveling from Bend, gas up, pack meals and take plenty of snacks. Once you pass Prineville there's only one very small town cafe in Mitchell.

Sooo glad I stopped at the visitor center and watched the 18 minute video. Can watch researchers and others working via the huge glass windows into the lab. Every school child should visit here. Exceedingly well done in every way.

During my stay at Wilson Ranch, my day trip to John Day Fossil Beds would be centered on one area, The Painted Hills.During Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, the roads were quiet and a carefree drive without demanding traffic allowed my senses to soar. My childlike curiosity and love of the road provided time to stop and photograph outstanding rock formations and landscapes. There are several sections to the park but I focused on the The Painted Hills. From the time I entered the area, rust and cream colored formations were like eye-candy. I found myself constantly stopping to take such uniqueness in. Make sure you travel to the Painted Hills Overlook Trail to get an awe-inspired view of nature at work. On this day, another set of hills gave off a rust and mossy green look. Make your way to the Painted Cove Trail. This 1/4 mile loop gives you an up close and personal look of the vibrant rocks with the use of a boardwalk on part of the trail.Please remember to respect the trails and not climb or disturb the hills, rocks or any other feature in the park. On the Cove Trail I noticed paw prints near some of the fragile formations that are clearly marked to stay out. John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a 40 million year display of Oregon history. Make sure that it is around for future generations.

John Day Fossil Beds is a very unusual park in that it is split up into a few different sections over a fairly wide area. I didn't get to visit the Clarno Unit but did get to see the Painted Hills Unit and the Sheep Rock Unit.The Visitor Center is quite good and features live fossil preparation demonstrations as well as excellent exhibits. I hiked the Blue Basin, which is a must-see. The hike is somewhat strenuous (especially in the summer heat) but well worth it. I also briefly stopped at Sheep Rock and the Cathedral, though there wasn't much to do there.The Painted Hills Unit is another must-see - absolutely gorgeous! It's best to see them in the afternoon to early evening as the light hits them just right and lights them up. I went in the morning and they were somewhat backlit and thus were not quite as impressive (though still beautiful).

Our time was short as we were headed back to Portland but we stopped into the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center and were pleased that we did. If you are into fossils, particularly mammal fossils, this is a great place to get a flavour of the prehistory of the area. The displays are well thought out and informative, the murals as illustrations are well done. Wish they had a few articulated skeletons rather than just the bits and pieces but what is displayed is quite interesting and covers a wide range. Hope to make it back at some time to give it all the consideration it deserves. The observation area looking into the preparation lab is interesting, probably more so for the observer than the person behind the glass.

There are 3 areas. Sheeprock unit, Painted Hills and Clarno Unit. They all have good things to see. The rock star of the 3 areas have to be hands down the Painted Hills. I saw alot of pictures of this area and I tell you that the pictures DO NOT do the hills justice. My husband and I said that it was like someone painted the colors on, they almost looked fake because of the amazing qualities in the hills. They are breathtaking. I posted a few pictures but the photos looked nothing like what they look like in real life. Please go see this natural phenom...you wont be disappointed and you will talk about them for years. The Sheeprock unit has a lovely museum (Thomas Condon Paleontology Center) explaining the geology in the area and what is look like millions of years ago there. They also have a viewing windown inside to watch paleontologists work. A little further up the road from there (approx 9 miles north of hwy 26) is a wonderful picnic spot. There are some hiking trails and picnic tables. Great place to bring your lunch. We had the place to ourselves in April. Clarno unit has some magnificant rock formations. We were rushed for time and couldnt spend much time there.

We've visited a lot of fossil excavation sites in California, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and now Oregon. This has to be one of the best. The rangers at the visitor's center were helpful with good advice on where our limited time could best be spent. The displays were well done, making it easy to imagine what the environment was like when the animals (whose fossilized bones were now being found) were alive. The trails were well maintained, with explanatory displays along the way. We will be going back when we have more time and can really take advantage of all the activities the monument has to offer.

We spent the majority of a day here split between the painted hills unit and the sheeprock (the main one) unit. We didn't have time to make the detour to the third.This area was a good stop between Crater Lake and the Sawtooth Mountains.If you haven't done Utah the Painted Hills will impress you, they are a great scenic stop.There is great scenery as well at sheeprock (not quite as good in our opinion) and a very impressive visitor and paleontology centre here which is where all the fossils are located.Definitely worth a days stop

If you are passing by the John Day fossil beds in central Oregon, make sure to visit the Painted Hills, a beautiful and unusual spot. Only in this part of the state are multi-colored hills--yellow, green and rust, with very few visitors. Best time to see the colors is near sunset. Painted Hills is part of The John Day National Monument, which is really 3 different sites. It may take the whole day to drive to all of them.We also visited the Sheep Rock Visitor Center with a small, but interesting facility manned by an education ranger. The display ocuses on prehistoric mammals--weird versions of contemporary creatures like horses and hippos. Good for older children. Sheep Rock is a stone mountain next to the visitor center. The rock was so named because sheep from ranches used to be prevalent there. No sheep were to be seen, however. We didn't have time it visit the Clarno unit, which was about 2 hours away. This area is quite out of the beaten path. We took the longer route, adding another hour to our road trip from Wyoming to Oregon. Would have been longer if we drove to the other monument sites, which are all about 1-2 hours apart. The city of John Day, where there are some hotels, is about 40-60 minutes from the monument sites, so you can stay there is you want to take in everything. The nearest town of Dayville has little in terms of visitor facilities.

You will only need to drive a few miles off the main highway for a visual treat -- lovely pastel-colored gentle formations. The best time to go is late in the day when the sun is on the formations. They have a lovely glow then.