Most of my time is spent in the Willamette Valley and the Cascades. For a long time I have talked about making a trip to the beautiful Painted Hills in Eastern Oregon. After my visit I asked myself, "What took you so long?" So as follows is my itinerary.
Coming from Portland I went to the Dalles and traveled down US 197 where I had scenes of mountains and farms.
I went east on 216 to see the indian fishing platforms near Sherar Bridge on the Deschutes
Headed further east to Kent and south to Shaniko. Kent is in the Heart of farm country with very old buildings and homes. Shaniko includes the remains of an old ghost town. You could spend a lot of time there. I was on a mission to get to the Painted Hills by sunset so I saved that for another time. I did stop in Kent for just a minute to grab this picture...
At Antelope I turned East again to Fossil where I passed through the Clarno Unit, one of three units in the John Day Fossil Beds National monument. I was there midday. Morning or evenings are best for these as well.
I went south on 19 to 207 to Mitchell and from Mitchell I visited Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds.
The best time of the day for the main attraction is in the late evening the remaining trails are are good in the morning as well where you have hills of a different character.
For your return trip you can go back again through antelope go west then north to maupin for a change of scenery and back up to the Dalles. Or you can see the Sheep Rock Unit in John Day with the interpretivie center. Or take 26 to Prineville for a longer loop.
In the summer it can be hot in the daytime. On June 25th it was 98 degrees in the afternoon but cooled down quikly in the hills as the wind started blowing and the sun set. There are no gas stations on the way from the Dalles and only on small station in Mitchell along with the Oregon Hotel. The Oregon Hotel is the only Hotel that I saw with maybe one over the store. I do highly recommend the Hotel their rates are reasonable and if you are on a budget you can stay in the Hostel. It is clean and they are friendly (no pets). You can feel the history as you walk on creaking boards. No Cell phone service there either so you can really get away.
The drive is made of ever changing scenery, I never got bored. It is quite possible to make this road trip in a marathon one day drive but for the best lighting stay overnight. There are a few BLM and county campgrounds in the area especially on the John Day River but they are not as close as Mitchell. I read there was an RV Park in Mitchell but I did not see it.
It may be early in the season but there were very few cars. The trails are all short.
Good shooting!
See more photos onmy flickr slideshow.
Coming from Portland I went to the Dalles and traveled down US 197 where I had scenes of mountains and farms.
I went east on 216 to see the indian fishing platforms near Sherar Bridge on the Deschutes
Headed further east to Kent and south to Shaniko. Kent is in the Heart of farm country with very old buildings and homes. Shaniko includes the remains of an old ghost town. You could spend a lot of time there. I was on a mission to get to the Painted Hills by sunset so I saved that for another time. I did stop in Kent for just a minute to grab this picture...
At Antelope I turned East again to Fossil where I passed through the Clarno Unit, one of three units in the John Day Fossil Beds National monument. I was there midday. Morning or evenings are best for these as well.
I went south on 19 to 207 to Mitchell and from Mitchell I visited Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds.
The best time of the day for the main attraction is in the late evening the remaining trails are are good in the morning as well where you have hills of a different character.
For your return trip you can go back again through antelope go west then north to maupin for a change of scenery and back up to the Dalles. Or you can see the Sheep Rock Unit in John Day with the interpretivie center. Or take 26 to Prineville for a longer loop.
In the summer it can be hot in the daytime. On June 25th it was 98 degrees in the afternoon but cooled down quikly in the hills as the wind started blowing and the sun set. There are no gas stations on the way from the Dalles and only on small station in Mitchell along with the Oregon Hotel. The Oregon Hotel is the only Hotel that I saw with maybe one over the store. I do highly recommend the Hotel their rates are reasonable and if you are on a budget you can stay in the Hostel. It is clean and they are friendly (no pets). You can feel the history as you walk on creaking boards. No Cell phone service there either so you can really get away.
The drive is made of ever changing scenery, I never got bored. It is quite possible to make this road trip in a marathon one day drive but for the best lighting stay overnight. There are a few BLM and county campgrounds in the area especially on the John Day River but they are not as close as Mitchell. I read there was an RV Park in Mitchell but I did not see it.
It may be early in the season but there were very few cars. The trails are all short.
Good shooting!
See more photos onmy flickr slideshow.
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