One of the seven great wonders of Oregon as Travel Oregon promotes is the Painted Hills. Located 4 hours east of Portland, the Painted Hills are actually just one unit of three that comprise the John Day Fossil Beds National Park. Besides the Painted Hills Unit, you can also visit Sheep Rock Unit (the location of Blue Basin) or Clarno Unit (location of dramatic Palisades). We visited all three March 25-26 2022, and we’re happy to share our tips in planning a trip to the Painted Hills and other units. This post will focus on getting to the area, and future posts will cover visiting each of the park’s units.
Timing Your Visit, and Planning the Drive
Because this area is in the high desert, the best times of year to visit this National Park is in spring and fall, when the weather isn’t as hot, and you don’t have to check the weather conditions of the winter passes which could require chains or have limited alternate routes when there are vehicle accidents or poor conditions. During our visit in end of March, we enjoyed temperatures in the comfortable 60s-70s during the day that cooled off to the 50s (Fahrenheit) in the evenings. Even though we went on hikes that had no shade, it was pleasant because of the cooperative weather. We enjoyed partly cloudy skies and sunshine, but even if you get some rain during your visit, it’s a treat because it will intensify the colors you see in the rocks and soils of the Fossil Beds units. There is no entrance fee to enter any of the units, but note that only the Sheep Rock Unit offers a visitor’s center. Each of the units is about an hour drive from each other.
If you are coming from Portland, there are several routes you can take to the area depending on what you would like to see. The fastest route is to take Highway 26 through Mt Hood Village and Government Camp, and Madras and Prineville to get to Mitchell. This is the fastest route and has the best access to food options, gas stations, and cell phone service. Taking this route will give you views of driving to and through Mt Hood. It wasn’t open yet in 2022, but this route also can take you pass by Kahneeta hot springs. I opted to take this route on the way back, versus to, the national park – take two different routes to and from to make a circle.
Another route you can take is I-84 through the Columbia River Gorge, giving yourself scenic views there past Multnomah Falls and Hood River and part of the Dalles, and then taking Highway 197 or 97 down. Going this way, you can make a stop by going on Highway 218 to visit Shaniko Ghost Town, and also the Clarno Unit on your way as your first unit of the John Day Fossil Beds. You can also choose to swing up to Fossil to do your own fossil digging at the only legal fossil dig site in Oregon behind a high school (great overview here at YesDirt!)
