By Mariah Cannon
The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is made up of three main units; Painted Hills, Sheep Rock, and Clarno. All three feature some pretty unique and other worldly formations and things to explore.
As someone who has lived in Oregon my whole life and never visited the John Day Fossil Beds until much later in life, I realize it’s not uncommon for people to never have explored everything that is literally in our backyard. So in this mini guide, I’m going to take you on a journey through time!
Part two in my three part series on exploring the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument brings us to my favorite unit, Sheep Rock! When I say you will feel like you’re on another planet, I genuinely mean it, it’s insane.
In the Sheep Rock unit, you’ll find epic hikes, museums and educational places, stunning viewpoints, and more. In no time, you’ll see exactly why this is my favorite unit.
What Exactly is the Sheep Rock Unit?
Similar to the Painted Hills, it’s a mix of reworked volcanic ash that has taken years to form. Unlike the Painted Hills, this area produces a more green and blue color in the rock and claystone – which is from chemical weathering of the mineral celadonite.
Where is the Sheep Rock Unit?
Located just an hour further down the highway than the Painted Hills and about two and a half hours East of Bend – it sits just next to Picture Gorge. The drive itself will have you saying, “oh my gosh!”. The closest town to the Sheep Rock Unit is Dayville. A quant town with some cute little shops and a good café to enjoy post exploring!
Entrance
Though it’s a National Monument, it is free to enter the park! I always bring my America The Beautiful Pass simply because it gives me peace of mind, but you definitely don’t need it here!
Best Time to Visit
Similar to the Painted Hills Unit, the best time to visit is in the Fall time simply because it’s not overly hot, typically have less rain, and don’t have snow build up typically. Mid September-Early October are the months I’d recommend visiting.
If you’re a photographer, the most ideal times to visit are early morning or right around sunset time. You’ll likely have a lot of the area to yourself if you show up in the morning time. The later morning-early afternoon is the busiest time of day for this monument. Along with weekend days, during the week it’s common to be completely alone out here!
Hiking in the Monument
- Blue Basin Overlook Loop is truthfully one of the best out of the select few in this park. It takes you 4 miles and 800 feet of elevation gain through some badlands and up above them with a few spots to take in the badlands below. If it’s raining at all this trail does get incredibly muddy and it sticks to shoes relatively bad. To make the full 4 mile loop, you can also do the Island in Time trail which I’ll mention below!
- Island in Time is the trail that takes you through the Blue Basin itself, the canyon where you get to see the badlands up close and really take in all the colors. If you only have time for one trail, make it this one! It’s 1.2 miles round-trip if you do just this trail.
- Story in Stone and Flood of Fire are two separate trails, but they take off from the same parking lot (Foree), so it’s easy to combine them together! It would be a short .8 mile hike with 98 feet of elevation gain.
- The Cant Ranch River Trail and Sheep Rock Overlook Trail is a 1 mile out and back trail starting from the Cant Ranch Museum and it’s a very nice stroll for littles and families!
- Although not much of a hike, the Mascall Overlook is a stop you should definitely make! It’s just a couple hundred feet from the parking area and has a picnic table and pit toilet.
Other Things to do Around the Monument
- Stop for a whole lot of history and information at the Historic Cant Ranch Museum, here you’ll be immersed into a journey through time. The museum is only currently open during the Summer months and will update their days and hours accordingly.
- The Thomas Condon Visitor Center is a couple of miles before the Blue Basin Overlook Parking lot and is so informational about the area! The rangers there are very knowledgeable about the area and it’s history. The center is open Thursday-Monday 10:00am-4:00pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Enjoy this guide? Be sure to save it for future travels!
Let’s Get Adventuring!
Mariah
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