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John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

  1. Kimberly
  2. John Day Parking

Reviews, get directions and information for John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

About

Welcome to the official Facebook page for John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. If you are looking for the official source of information about John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, please visit our homepage at: http://www.nps.gov/joda

Description

A visit to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is like taking a journey into ancient Oregon. Whether you tour the museum at Sheep Rock, hike a trail at the Painted Hills, or picnic at Clarno, Oregon's exciting past will be revealed.

Mission

The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

Impressum

Free!

Address: 32651 Hwy 19, Kimberly, Oregon 97848
Phone: (541) 987-2333
Email: vog.spn@noitaterpretni_adoj
Parking: Lot
State: OR
City: Kimberly
Street Number: 32651 Hwy 19
Zip Code: 97848
categories: government organization, museum, national park


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Reviews
Interesting place to visit. Its quite spread out with 3 different units, miles apart. The main visitor center is really nice and the Painted Hills is the best bit to visit. The hiking around here is good and there are some interesting areas with different minerals making the landscape multi-colour
Quite the drive but well worth it! Pictures cannot fully capture the beauty of the Painted Hills and surrounding landscapes. Definitely visit the Painted Hills as close to sunset as possible. The lighting at that time really makes the hills pop with color. We did go in the morning at first and it was a little shadowed and were so glad we came back late afternoon for another peak. We couldn’t stay until sunset as the drive back to Bend where we were staying was hours away. The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center was a very interesting fossil museum with a small gift shop inside; great views of Sheep Rock Unit; a nice full toilet bathroom. Definitely do not climb on the hills; you could see shoe prints of someone who did and it just ruins the beauty of this area…leave no trace. If you can, try to take one of the hikes for views hard to beat! Before you begin your trip, make sure you have a full tank of gas and pack a lunch and bring snacks!
This hike was pretty easy. We went in late Sept so the weather was nice and not overly hot. We did the full circle hike and then went into the center. The rocks were beautiful.
I didn’t have a lot of expectations going in - I was looking for a quiet place for a long weekend drive from Seattle. This place blew my mind! I love learning about geology and paleontology - well, general natural history. This felt like an open museum! Visit here and take your kiddos. Can you imagine that at some point in history, millions of years ago, Central Oregon was a tropical forest?! And there were 3-toed horses? I never imagined the possibility! So, expect to learn a lot of cool things! This National Monument has 3 units - Sheep Rock, Clarno and Painted Hills. I’d recommend that you visit them in that order even though they’re all miles apart. Start at the Thomas Condon Paleontology centerthey open at 10 am - checkout the many fossils and read up on their descriptions of the history. If you don’t want to read all those paragraphs, watch the documentary at the theater. It is a 20-minute video and very informative! On weekdays, you can watch scientists at work here as they handle fossils!! Then, proceed to the sheep ranch, Cathedral Rockthere wasn’t a place to pull over and stop the car here, so be prepared to slow down to appreciate this volcanic rock formation and Foree. The Foree was gorgeous! The blue-green claystone was so pretty!! Then proceed to the Clarno unit. There are trails from the parking lot. Check them out! There are many cards placed along the trail to explain the history. Walk to the end of the trail and then start reading the cards on your way back to the parking lot, for it to make more sense, if you’ve not visited the Paleontology center. Finally, stop by the Painted Hills! These are so pretty! And sunset makes the layers clear as the sun hits these hills at the right angles for some nice photographs! I was told to visit here right after the rain lets up in the evenings for everything to pop! Oregon is so gorgeous!! And John Day Fossil Bed is a must visit if you’re a geology and natural history enthusiast
It took us 6hrs to get here since it is somewhat out of the way. We drove mostly nonstop. I would recommend that you plan to stay in the area 3+ days to fully appreciate all the natural beauty.
Few visit this uniquely beautiful national monument but more should! The interpretive center is very well put together with lots of different displays. It is a great starting point when exploring the park. The park staffing was very helpful in pointing out interesting locations and helped us make an itinerary.
A beautiful place! Has trails if you're into that. A lovely picnic area with restrooms. With the drive. Restrooms: Outhouse style restrooms Dog-friendliness: Doug friendly, there is a fountain/wash area that includes a dog bowl Picnic area: Beautiful and shaded
We visited all three locations. This is the order we went. Clarno Unit : Short hike with views of fossiled logs, plants and wildlife. There is an enormous bee? hive at the top that was not causing us trouble due to the rain but this might be an issue during warmer times. Not our favorite of the three. Sheep Rock Unit : I wish the video offered at the Paleontology Center was offered at both Clarno and Painted Hills as it told us indepth on what we were looking at. The geology exhibit was fascinating, my favorite part. A little salty that some of the displays have been 'removed for research' since 2004. Caro ranch was alright, but we are more into rocks than history. Painted Hills Unit : Pretty! Even more facinating with the knowledge of the video. A few short hikes here. While the park was cool, it felt like a repeat to all national parks that I've been to in Utah. Another draw back is just the location in general, it was hard to find food and gas.
Closed on Monday why?. It was a very long and boring drive to get there. Little to see. Not worth the effort. No fossils in the wild. Mostly desert.
Such an amazing learning experience! I've lived in Oregon most of my life and never get tired of learning new things about my home state. If you like history, geography, geology then this is a place you must visit. The Fossil Beds at John Day will not disappoint!
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