Welcome to the official page for John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon.
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 (in Kimberly Oregon), hike a trail at the Painted Hills (located in Mitchell, Oregon), or picnic at Clarno (located in Fossil, Oregon), Oregon's exciting past will be revealed.
Operating as usual
A long weekend with nice weather means a great opportunity to plan for fun events in the area around John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Watch for bicycles on roads, full parking areas and crowds along trails and in the Thomas Condon Visitor Center. Plan and prepare with picnic lunches, snacks, extra water, sunscreen, and comfortable hiking shoes. Enjoy Memorial Day weekend!
Ahhh. Smell that fresh evening air, listen for the crickets and frogs, warm nights and late sunsets are finally here.
Purple sage, (Salvia dorrii) will be blooming in the next few weeks along trails at the Sheep Rock unit. Watch for a woody shrub with blue-purple flowers that has an intense, minty-sage aroma – especially when the small gray leaves are crushed. If you find a purple sage, check to see if it has square stems!
Looking for a lunch spot? Need a place to in the shade to sit and relax? Want to learn about ranching the frontier? Swing by the Historic Cant Ranch from Noon to 4pm every day except Tuesday. Enjoy the grounds and trails anytime!
There are only a few tickets left for the IN A LANDSCAPE piano concert on Monday, June 19th! Not sure what to expect? The pianist shares how he brings classical music into the outdoors in this brief video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwtdjminUxw).
Though there is a cost for the concert tickets, there is no additional fee to visit the Monument before or during the concert.
finds some of our youngest visitors practicing being future scientists, park rangers and National Park visitors!
I went to Clarno and didn’t see any fossils! 👀🧐
When hiking the trails at Clarno look all over the different sides of the boulders to find leaf the fossils. They can be hard to find at first and not all the rocks have fossils but once you find one you will start to see them all over! 🥾🌿
Join the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument team in the Maintenance Division! Apply soon, this job announcement is open until 5/19/23 or until 101 applications are received.
This is a career seasonal position located in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, in the Maintenance Division. Open to the first 101 applicants or until 05/19/2023 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration. Go...
Check out that view! The 1.6-mile Carroll Rim Trail at the Painted Hills rises 400 feet to give you a spectacular view above the hills. Make sure you bring water and sunscreen as this trail offers fabulous views but little shade.
Objects in mirror are closer than they appear! 😮
Memorial Day Weekend is right around the corner! Prepare for crowded trails and full parking lots at our popular trailheads 🥾. If there is no available parking at one trailhead, enjoy another trail while you wait! Plan ahead with some helpful tips for visiting the Monument during the busy holiday weekend and the rest of the summer. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/top-tips-for-visiting-john-day-fossil-beds.htm
Wait - what’s that? A flower on the gravel?
Gone are the green leaves of a “weird little plant” growing beside our trails – replaced by amazing creamy pink and white flowers that open to morning sun and close by mid-afternoon each day! The best places to spot bitterroot flowers, (Lewisia rediviva) are along the Painted Hills trails in mid-May.
What a great day for a hike! We are seeing some beautiful weather which means it’s time to get outside! The Blue Basin Overlook trail in the Sheep Rock Unit is 3.25 miles and climbs 760 feet in elevation for some wonderful views. If you are looking for a place to soak in some quiet nature, this is the trail for you.
We wanted to show our appreciation for one of our Volunteer-in-Parks, Cheri, for her help clearing weeds in the Historic Cant Ranch district! Thank you for all your hard work, Cheri, and keeping the barn area looking its best for visitors!
If you are standing along the River Trail at the Cant Ranch House, you will often hear the loud gurgling “konk-a-reee” call of male Red-winged Blackbirds. Watch for the brilliant flash of red as the male puffs-up his red shoulder patches to woo a female or chase away an intruder in his territory. What migratory birds are in your area?
You’ve been patiently waiting…
The time has come, the lilacs are blooming!
John Day Fossil Beds is excited to host another IN A LANDSCAPE concert on Monday, June 19th! Tickets and concert information are available on their website (https://www.inalandscape.org). Register today to attend this concert in such a beautiful, scenic location at the Historic Cant Ranch.
Splashes of bright yellow made up of John Day Chaenactis (Chaenactis nevii) and Golden Bee Cleome (Cleome platycarpa) at the Painted Hills, look like a painter’s palette of living color!
May the fence lizard be with you! See what we did there…..sigh. At least the lizard thinks it’s funny!
Warm weather encourages most people to go outside! It also means some familiar faces will make a reappearance along trails! 🐍 Remember, if you see a snake, give it plenty of space. Though snakes are typically spotted basking in the sun, you may also find them cooling off under a shady bush in the middle of the day.
Sunny warm days last week and suddenly sunflowers appear as if by magic! Common along park trails, the arrowleaf balsamroot sunflower (Balsamorhiza sagittata) will turn rugged canyon slopes golden yellow in the next few weeks.
We need YOU for a day of “Art In The Park” outside at the Historic Cant Ranch followed by a concert from IN A LANDSCAPE on June 19th. We are looking for anyone and everyone who would like to demonstrate and talk about their art whether you are a painter, quilter, weaver, metal worker, beekeeper, you name it. If you consider it art contact us! [email protected]
On the last day of , we invite you to share what you love about National Parks! 💕
Where have you earned your favorite Junior Ranger Badge? Celebrate National Junior Ranger Day at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument by earning a new badge. Find amazing fossils in the fossil gallery, spark curiosity and reflection, telling the story of where we have been while also inspiring where we go next. , ,
Looking for an internship this summer? 👀 John Day Fossil Beds National Monument has TWO Interpretation Park Ranger Intern openings beginning in early June through September or October. Information and application are available through this link. Apply today!
https://nwyouthcorps.workbrightats.com/jobs/963981.html
On , we are grateful for all of our hardworking and passionate staff who preserve, research, and share the story of the John Day Fossil Beds.
The of ranger led hikes in Blue Basin! The photo on the left was taken in 1978 just three years after John Day Fossil Beds was established and the tradition continues today, over 45 years later!
Today for we celebrate accomplishment! The park’s paleontology and museum division staff recently won the group “Heritage Heroes Award” for their 40-year partnership with the Burau of Land Management acting as stewards for significant BLM fossil specimens. Check out the article to learn more about this teamwork!
https://www.blm.gov/blog/2022-12-08/heritage-heroes-preserve-record-age-mammals-50-million-years-ago
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The Painted Hills are some of the most popular views in the monument, but one of our volunteers, Carol, has a special connection to the red hills visible from the Blue Basin Overlook trail. Since moving to the area with her husband 38 years ago, she's discovered the beauty of these colorful hills along their driveway and from their home. These views and her husband's connection to the Cant family inspired her to volunteer at the Cant Ranch museum, where she's eager to share their story and the stories of others before them.
Have you made a discovery in a park that later impacted your life?
We wanted to give a major shoutout and say THANK YOU to those who joined us during our Earth Day roadside cleanup event! We had participation from our own park staff, as well as volunteers from Seneca and even all the way from Granite. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!
Enjoy Earth Day today by making connections outside. Discover a spring day in the sunshine while hiking a trail or become involved as a steward and help clean up a roadway in your community. Meaningful connections with park “places” can start with a walk outdoors. ,
Park volunteers wear many hats. From coming out for a day on a clean up project or spending a summer as a campground host, we appreciate all the time our volunteers give us. Even just a few hours can have a great impact on a visitor’s park experience. Thank you volunteers!
Join us on Saturday, April 22nd, for a roadside cleanup event along HWY 19! There will be a safety briefing in the Historic Cant Ranch parking lot at 9:45am, event will be held between 10am-12pm. Help us clean up our act and keep the Monument looking beautiful!
Today we are celebrating one of the volunteer roles at John Day Fossil Beds that is a “Hidden Gem” - the artist-in-residence program! In 2019, artist-in-residence Catherine collaborated with scientists to make a life-size, Agriochoerus (oreodont) out of felted wool. The special clawed-oreodont has been a popular addition to the Thomas Condon Visitor Center ever since.
Did you know that nearly 300,000 volunteers donate more than 6.5 million hours of service in a typical year across the NPS?! That’s a lot of hours! Events like a total solar eclipse can only go smoothly with volunteers working along with park staff and great memories are made.
During National Volunteer Week (April 16-22), we are celebrating the hard work and dedication of our volunteers. The impact of volunteer service and their contributions is immense in helping the NPS tackle many challenges. Thank you John Day Fossil Beds volunteers!
To learn more about volunteering opportunities at the monument, visit www.nps.gov/joda/getinvolved/volunteer.htm or www.Volunteer.gov and search "John Day Fossil Beds."
Spring is a great time to hunt for some of the more unusual plants that grow in the Sagebrush Steppe. Protected from weather and bright sun, little ferns (Cystopteris fragilis) can often be found growing in wet spots next to large boulders along the Blue Basin Overlook trail.
Let's take a second to take in the Painted Hills...
Video description: Yellow, red, and tan hills are seen under a grey cloudy sky with rocky ridges in the background dotted with green trees.
A tooth from one of our youngest horse species, Neohipparion, is in the Rattlesnake exhibit drawer. One of the benefits of having such a long and complete fossil record is being able to compare our oldest and youngest horses' teeth and understand how horses adapted to the changing environments.
A perfect hiding spot in plain sight, a small cottontail rabbit watches many spring break visitors walk by along the Island in Time trail in Blue Basin. Their survival depends on camouflage colors, and a knack for holding perfectly still. Have you spotted the little cottontail yet?
The heart of life on a ranch or any home is the kitchen, and the Cant kitchen was no different. Feeding hungry hands during lambing and shearing season, socializing with neighbors and family, and celebrating special events kept Elizabeth Cant busy! She took pride in sharing her skills with others and visitors would never leave hungry.
32651 Highway 19
Kimberly, OR
97848
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Look at the Erosion! 👀💦 With all the precipitation we have been having you may notice forces shaping the landscape right in front of you. Water from small rivulets to fast moving washes like this one help create the otherworldly landscape slowly carving away at rock and soil carrying the green sediments downhill and working to expose long buried fossils of species past. #erosion #nature #landscape #geology NPS Video: Green water rushes through a winding narrow wash dotted dark red rocks while rain falls. The muddy banks are covered with tall yellow grasses and light green sage brush. A juniper tree is in the upper right corner in front of a grey cloudy sky. A steep hill is in the distance with a sharp blueish cliff face on the right.
❄️Know before you go! Our current conditions at the Thomas Condon Visitor Center include snow! ❄️ Don't forget to check road conditions and mountain passes before you head out on your adventure. Oregon Department of Transportaion can help you out here: https://www.tripcheck.com/ NPS Video: Snow falls around a circular stone display with a replica brown entelodont skull mounted in the middle. The background is white with thick snow.
🦇 Our bats are launching themselves into #batweek! 🦇 They are excited and we are too. Get ready for a week of batty fun! NPS Video: Bats swoop into view from behind the camera against a dusk sky.
"These aren't the Painted Hills... You said we weren't lost, Mike!" "I dunno what happened...GPS brought us here!" "Well we don't have service here so NOW we're lost. 🙄" Don't worry! Hardcopy regional and Oregon state maps, and trail guides are available at the visitor center. #ThursdayThought Video description: Three wild turkeys walk across grass towards the camera, and then one from the back of the group runs ahead towards the front. Each of the turkeys are looking to their left and right repeatedly in a curious or even confused manner. They’re making soft, purring calls as they walk.
Public Lands Day is the perfect day to share the natural beauty and behaviors found at National Park sites, but also the importance of respecting the land and its inhabitants. Snakes eat more to save energy before brumation, or reptile hibernation. In this video, this Northern Pacific Rattlesnake might have eaten a small rodent for extra energy to survive the cold, winter months. How do you prepare for winter? #PublicLandsDay #FindYourPark #EncuentraTuParque Video description: A brown and tan Northern Pacific Rattlesnake slithers through the grass towards a gravel path, but changes its mind once it reaches the path and slithers back towards the grass. As it slithers, its rattle flops side to side, making a quiet rattle sound as it does so. There are crickets chirping in the background.
Have you visited Clarno Unit in the morning? With fewer visitor crowds, it’s easier to observe and listen to the various birds chirping and chatting. Here’s a video of a family of Chukars being very vocal while climbing up the rocky hillside below the Clarno Palisades. Video description: A family of about nine Chukars climbs up a rocky hillside. Their calls sound like a low intensity “chuck”, and a louder, raspy “chukar”. Multiple birds are making these sounds simultaneously.
Enjoy this cute little pollinator for #WorldHoneyBeeDay 🐝 NPS Image: A video focusing on a close-up view of a bee in the center of a yellow flower on a green stalk. The bee is crawling around the flower looking for pollen while smaller dark insects fly around. Smaller yellow flowers sway in the wind against a tan rocky background and a light blue sky.
It’s a family weekend! A family of Western Kingbirds was spotted in a tree at Painted Hills Unit with three babies in a nest. How exciting that it was noticeable from the trail! Video description: An adult Western Kingbird feeds an insect to three of its babies in a nest, situated in a juniper tree branch. As it takes flight, the adult Western Kingbird makes a sound similar to that of human laughter.
Sometimes the best things happen when you least expect them. A ranger was sitting by the irrigation ditch at Cant Ranch and a Western Yellow-bellied Racer slithered up and then spotted and caught a fly for lunch! What an awesome catch (both by the snake and ranger).
Is it lunchtime yet? This American Kestrel thinks so. This small falcon was spotted enjoying a meal on the stop sign at the end of the road leading to the Mascall Overlook. Maybe he'll share... What do you think he was eating?
Happy #NationalFossilDay everyone! Dr. Nick and Pongo wanted to take you all on a virtual tour of some of our cool non-mammal fossils. They talk crocs, dawn redwoods, tortoises, birds, and snakes! See the video at the link below. We hope you enjoy! #FindYourPark #EncuentraTuParque #Crocodile #Tortoise #Bird #BirdEgg #Snake #DawnRedwood #OregonStateFossil https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=8EF826B7-F10E-493C-2F862B040E11CD16
Join us for the Saturday morning matinee of the new park film! Layers of Life: Stories of Ancient Oregon tells a story of one of the richest fossil beds in North America, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Travel through nearly 50-million years and discover how life during the Age of Mammals and Flowering Plants responded to landscapes with fluctuating climates and explosive volcanoes. Once warm and rainy, teeming with crocodiles and palm trees, the land slowly transformed into a high desert, dotted with sagebrush steppe and pronghorns. Dynamic, 3-D animation illustrates how iconic landscape features like Sheep Rock, the Painted Hills, and the Clarno Palisades were formed. The film is 20 mins 51 seconds. We will wait one (1) minute for people to join after the live-stream starts to begin the webisode.
Join us for the evening premier of the new park film! Layers of Life: Stories of Ancient Oregon tells a story of one of the richest fossil beds in North America, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Travel through nearly 50-million years and discover how life during the Age of Mammals and Flowering Plants responded to landscapes with fluctuating climates and explosive volcanoes. Once warm and rainy, teeming with crocodiles and palm trees, the land slowly transformed into a high desert, dotted with sagebrush steppe and pronghorns. Dynamic, 3-D animation illustrates how iconic landscape features like Sheep Rock, the Painted Hills, and the Clarno Palisades were formed. The film is 20 mins 51 seconds. We will wait one (1) minute for people to join after the live-stream starts to begin the webisode. #FossilFriday
Behind the Scenes of Fossil Discoveries takes you on a fossil’s journey from formation to preservation. Webisode is 5 mins 18 seconds. We will wait one (1) minute for people to join after the live-stream starts to begin the webisode. #FossilFriday
Leave No Trace animates what you can do to help protect John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Webisode is 1 mins 40 seconds. We will wait one (1) minute for people to join after the live-stream starts to begin the webisode.
How Do We Know What We Know? explains how scientists draw conclusions from the fossil record that informs our understanding of the past and present. Webisode is 3 mins 27 seconds. We will wait one (1) minute for people to join after the live-stream starts to begin the webisode.
The webisode, "Uncovering the Past, Learning about the Future" gives an overview of fossil discovery and research at John Day Fossil Beds beginning in the early 19th century. This webisode is 3 mins and 36 seconds long. We will wait one (1) minute for people to join after the live-stream starts to begin the webisode. Audio description and captioning will be on.
We will be premiering our new park webisodes on Facebook Live at 10 am Pacific time all this week, leading up to the premier of our new park film Friday evening and Saturday morning. On Monday, we will start with "Ancient Migrations" which discusses how the fossil record is used to reconstruct ancient ecosystems and reveal ancient animal migrations. This webisode is 3 mins and 25 seconds long. Park staff will be available for live commentary and to respond to questions.
This #SoundscapeSaturday, #FindYourPride with the sound of rain and an enormous double rainbow over Sheep Rock. Happy Pride month from John Day Fossil Beds!
When's the last time that you've witnessed an entire sunset? If you don't have time to experience it in real-time, enjoy this time lapse of night falling over the hills at Blue Basin for this #SoundscapeSaturday.
You might not think an irrigation ditch is the best place to find a symphony, but that's where these frogs are singing their hearts out for this week's #SoundscapeSaturday. Cant Ranch's orchard is an excellent place to listen to the sounds of nature. #FindYourPark #EncuentraTuParque
We expect large crowds at Painted Hills during the weekend so if you encounter a crowded trailhead or overlook, seek another location to recreate. While planning your trip, consider visiting at times other than busiest times of the day or week, be sure to park only in designated areas, pack out everything you bring, and maintain social distance from others. Enjoy Practical Tips from Virtual Rangers that discusses Painted Hills. #RecreateResponsibly
This #SoundscapeSaturday, listen to a thunderstorm over Sheep Rock.
This #SoundscapeSaturday enjoy a peaceful scene of a deer chewing its cud. This might look like a close up, but we filmed with a zoom lens from plenty of distance during the fall of 2018 at the Cant Ranch in the Sheep Rock Unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
Happy National Park Week! Today is Park RX day. To bring a little bit of nature to you at home, John Day Fossil Beds has put together a gallery of Soundscapes of the Park. Please enjoy these bite-sized pieces of the park. #SoundscapeSaturday #ParkRX https://www.nps.gov/joda/learn/photosmultimedia/virtualtour.htm This week's soundscape is a view of a fruit tree in bloom at the Cant Ranch in April, 2016. The bees are busy pollinating the pink flowers.
