Eastern Oregon - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 714

From the Blue Basin Area, two hikes lead out to the fossil formations. The Island in
Time Trail is a well-maintained, mile-long (round-trip) path that climbs up a narrow wa-
terway to a badlands-basin of highly eroded, uncannily green sediments. The longer Blue
Basin Overlook Trail is a 3-mile loop with amazing vistas of the John Day Valley.
Painted Hills Unit GEOLOGICAL SITE
Because no cap rock protects them from erosion, the Painted Hills have eroded into low-
slung, colorfully banded hills that were originally formed about 30 million years ago. A
series of eruptions drifted into beds hundreds of feet deep, layering the brick-red, yellow,
black, beige and ocher-hued ash that you now see. It's a fabulous, uncommon sight.
Interpretive walks include the easy half-mile (round-trip) Leaf Hill Trail , which winds
over the top of a banded hill, and the 1.5-mile (round-trip) Carroll Rim Trail , which goes
to the top of a high bluff for great views.
Clarno Unit GEOLOGICAL SITE
The oldest, most remote fossil beds in the area are at the base of the John Day River's
canyon. The 40-million-year-old Clarno Unit exposes mud flows that washed over an
Eocene-era forest. The Clarno Formation eroded into white cliffs topped with spires and
turrets of stone. There are three half-mile (round-trip) interpretive trails, including one
that passes through large boulders containing fossils of an ancient forest, and another that
leads to the base of Palisades Cliff and some petrified logs.
Thomas Condon Paleontology Center MUSEUM
( 541-987-2333; www.nps.gov/joda ; 32651 Hwy 19, Kimberly; 10am-5pm, occasional closed
days) Visit the excellent Thomas Condon Paleontology Center 2 miles north of US 26 at
the Sheep Rock Unit. Displays include a three-toed horse and petrified dung-beetle balls,
along with many other fossils and geologic history exhibits. Note that staffing issues
mean the center is closed occasionally.
Cant Ranch House HISTORIC HOUSE
( 9am-4pm Mon-Thu & most Fri) The Cant Ranch House, near the paleontology center, of-
fers a peek into settlers' early lives, and has picnic grounds and a riverside trail.
Sleeping & Eating
The town of John Day has a few accommodations. Public campgrounds in the area in-
clude Lone Pine (campsites $5) and Big Bend (campsites $5) ; both are nice riverside
places on Hwy 402, north of the Sheep Rock Unit and 2 to 3 miles east of Kimberly (no