The Painted Hills, Oregon

As mentioned in previous posts (click here), Oregon has seven wonders. The list of Oregon’s amazing places was determined by Travel Oregon in 2013. These natural beauties showcase the diversity of Oregon’s landscape, including its breathtaking Pacific Coast, high deserts, beautiful mountain ranges, lush forests and so much more. We plan to visit, or re-visit in some cases, all of these treasures over the next year or so.

I’ve covered five of these wonders so far in recent posts. Here are the links if you’re interested in reading them.

Oregon Coast

Columbia River Gorge

Crater Lake National Park

Mount Hood, Oregon

Smith Rock State Park

The Painted Hills located in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is another one of Oregon’s wonders. This national monument is divided into three separate areas referred to as “units”. The Painted Hills are one of the units with the other two being Sheep Rock and Clarno, which I will cover in the near future.

The monument includes close to 14,000 acres (5,600 hectares) and receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. And given the rugged terrain, intense colors and vibrancy of the area, it’s no wonder it’s so popular.

The Painted Hills were named for the layers of intense colors in the landscape. It is believed that the hills were formed over 35 million years ago when winds brought pumice and ash from a volcanic eruption in the Cascade Range to the area. (Click here to read my first hand experience with the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens, also in the Cascade Range).

Over time, these elements mixed with other sediments in the area resulting in the colorful layers. This is a very over-simplified explanation; click here if you want more information regarding the formation.

The textures are quite interesting and varied.

My first thought after getting out of the car, was the over-whelming silence. We had traveled miles off the highway to get to this location, and it was so quiet. I don’t know about you, but life seems so cacophonous and booming most of the time. So this silent experience made me pause and savor the grace of the moment.

There are many trails in the area where one can truly get away from anything and everything, as long as you visit off-season.

We were hesitant to leave the silent, peaceful stillness of the area. As we returned to our hotel, we saw many ruins of old homesteads along the way. Can you imagine living in such a remote area where winters are freezing and summers are sweltering? Miles from neighbors, a town and in such a rugged, harsh landscape? It would certainly be surreal.

We even saw some mountain goats as we left.

We absolutely loved our visit to the painted hills and highly recommend a visit here if you’re in the area. We visited just last week and found the conditions to be comfortable with just a few other tourists. We visited the first time about 25 years ago in the summer when it was sweltering and crowded. So if you visit, go in the spring or fall. There’s no fee to visit the area.

TheTravelsketcher also wrote about our visit to the Painted Hills; click here to read that post.

As always, I would love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment if you’re so inclined.

Wishing you grand and peaceful adventures,

Tricia