Oregon’s otherworldly places
Painted Hills
By MAKENZIE WHITTLE
THE BULLETIN
Recent images from Mars might have
you longing to blast off and explore the
fi nal frontier for yourself. But faster than
any travel for a continuing mission, you
can explore these Oregon vistas to give you
that spacey feeling, no astronaut training
required.
Probably the most “out there” view you’ll
get in Oregon, the Painted Hills is regarded
as one of the state’s seven wonders.
Part of the John Day Fossil Beds National
Monument, these colorful hills made of
paleosols, or ancient soils, tell their geologic
story on each hillside with every color indi-
cating a different ancient climate. This is
also a place where hundreds of varieties of
leaf and nut fossils have been found indicat-
ing the more temperate life that thrived here
around 33 million years ago.
The best trail to get that Martian expe-
rience is along the Painted Cove Trail.
Here, wooden, raised boardwalks wind
through the deep red hills giving visitors that
up-close look at these beautiful hills.
The stunning hills are incredibly frag-
ile so stay on designated trails while visiting
and take only pictures.
Clarno
The Clarno Unit of the John Day Fos-
sil Beds National Monument is also the least
visited of the three designated areas of the
monument. Located 18 miles west of Fos-
sil, the smaller site has four trails that stretch
below the towering palisades that have been
eroded by time and wind.
Like all of the units, this one also is home
See Page 29
Makenzie Whittle/The Bulletin
A view of the Painted Hills from the Overlook Trail.
2020
Baby chicks are here! Bare root trees & roses!
Perennials are back!
C ELEBRATING 35 Y EARS !
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