Dave.Largent Loc: Puyallup, Washington

Painted Hills is located within the John Day River basin, a U.S. national monument in Wheeler and Grant counties in east-central Oregon. Distinguished by varied stripes of red, tan, orange, and black, this area preserves a sequence of past climate change.

The varied colors of the Painted Hills are beautiful at all times of the day, but are best lit for photography in the late afternoon. Changing light and moisture levels drastically affect the tones and hues visible in the hills. The seasons can also change the look of the Painted Hills radically. Spring often brings yellow wildflowers that grow in open areas and sometime even in the ripples of the hills. Winter can blanket the hills in a white coat, concealing the vibrant hues until the snow melts, revealing interspersed stripes of gold and red.

After a long dry summer there was a lot of dust that would have muted the colors. So seeing rain in the forecast, we waited until the end of our trip to visit the Painted Hills and I think it made the colors much more vibrant.
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Rain the previous day cleaned up a lot of the dust and really intensified the colors.

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The rolling hills with their vibrant colors really stand out.

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Layer upon layer upon layer of varying color.

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Some areas lean toward more yellows and others have more red.

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The top of the hill looks pretty normal but anywhere that has eroded out reveals some intense color.

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Following the road a sign says Red Hill, a mile or two past the sign you find this hill.

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They have a walking trail where you can really get in close and see that it is more clay than lava rock.

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Hereford Loc: Palm Coast, FL

Truly unusual colors in those hills. Surreal.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

Nice shots. I live about 1 hour from the Painted Hills. Yes the most colorful times to visit the hills is in the afternoon and shortly after rains or after the snow melts. For those considering a visit to the Painted Hills, There are no close by campgrounds or hotels. Prineville is your closest town with those accommodations.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

What an interesting, colorful area. You did a nice job.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Great set displaying some real American beauty.

levinton

Really fabulous and rich colors! What kind of fossils?

RonDavis Loc: Chicago, IL

Hi Dave…..long ago I had heard about the beautiful Painted Hills…..your photos make the rumors a reality, thanks for sharing your experience

rbmacc Loc: DeQuincy La

What a great set !

Quixdraw Loc: x

Good shots, and interesting! Visited Bend a good while back and missed that.

J-SPEIGHT Loc: Akron, Ohio

Beautiful images Dave

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Fantastic set of images!!!!

tcthome Loc: NJ

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

Excellent!

reguli Loc: Uruguay

Beautiful photos of these colorful hills. In 2019 I visited Cuzco, Peru, and near the city there are colored mountains like the ones you photographed called the rainbow mountain. The problem is that from the parking lot to the mountain there is a foot path of a couple of miles at 11,000 feet of altitude.

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

Very colorful and beautiful.