John Day Fossil Beds National Monument - Painted Hills Unit

Visited: May 2021

Nearby town: Mitchell, OR 

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument covers three geographically separate units in Central Oregon - (1) Painted Hills; (2) Sheep Rock; and (3) Clarno Units. All 3 units are quite a distance from each other, but they all lie in the John Day River watershed.

Tara and I went on a road trip with her parents to visit all 3 units. This post will cover our stop at the Painted Hills Unit.

The Painted Hills are considered one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon - and with good reason. The multi-colored layers of the rocks and hills make for a beautiful and unforgettable scenic vista. The different colors are due to the composition of the soil: made up of mudstone, siltstone, shale, and lignite. 

The hills explode in a wide variety of distinct colors - red, yellow, black, and gray. The seasons and time of day can change the colors and appearance of the hills. It's always spectacular - but the best lighting for photography is in the late afternoon. Our visit was first thing in the morning - not optimal, but still pretty good photos. Our first stop was the short and scenic Painted Hills Overlook Trail (only 0.5 miles round trip)

Tara's parents: Aletha and Richard

I love the distinct and vibrant red stripe on this hill

Tara and her mom

Head further down the road, stopping at trailheads along the way. These trails are very easy and short. We did Painted Cove, Leaf Hill, and Red Scar Knoll Trails. Each one is only a quarter-mile round trip.

interesting and unique colors at the Painted Cove

overlooking the Painted Cove and the Painted Hills Reservoir

along the Leaf Hill Trail

Leaf Hill

the Red Scar Knoll

Close up to the Red Scar Knoll

Tara and I then did the Carroll Rim Trail. This trail is a little more strenuous than the others but it's not too bad, 1.6 miles roundtrip and about a 400-ft elevation gain. This trail offers a really good bird's-eye view of the entire Painted Hills.

start of the Carroll Rim Trail

Painted Hills Reservoir in the distance

It took us about half-a-day to hike all the trails in the Park and soak in the scenery. If you're looking for fossils, there are not many here in Painted Hills. You need to head to one of the other units. I will say that if you only have time to visit one unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, I would make it the Painted Hills. A very nice and memorable visit. 

We then stopped at the tiny, eccentric town of Mitchell (pop. 121). It was a fun town to explore.

stopped at the only restaurant in town, the Tiger Town Brewing Co.

tried the pita chip nachos

Tara's Dad got the fish & chips

one of the many odds-and-ends shops in town

The Painted Hills are well worth a visit. Come see for yourself why it is one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon. More info here: https://www.nps.gov/joda/planyourvisit/ptd-hills-unit.htm