After exploring Painted Hills, we were on our way to Blue Basin, part of Sheep Rock Unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
In hind sight, I wished we would have started at this unit, because it has a little museum with actual fossils of the animals that existed back in the day. We’re talking rhinos, beardogs, and a version of a saber-tooth cat used to prowl around these parts.
Interesting side note, the fossils that were initially found in this area were once only discovered in India and China.
Blue Basin is the remnants of 29 million years ago. That alone gives it some perspective, but this park took it a step further. Throughout the “Island in Time” trail there are fossils showcased. These fossils were found directly in this park.
The trail has a lot of metal bridges and gives you an up close look at the basin. The ground is full of little blue rocks. Even though it’s tempting, remember, it’s illegal to take anything out of the park or wander off the trail.
The “Island in Time” trail is actually pretty short, 1.3 mile roundtrip. It loops around to a very scenic location. We spent a bit of time in the cove and made our way back to hike the Overlook Trail.
The trail is immediately gorgeous and gives you unparalleled views of the basin. We underestimated how long 3.25 miles is and hit this trail about an hour before sunset.
It’s always so amazing to see how the colors change a different times of the day.
While the views were gorgeous at sunset, we did have to do a bit of trail running towards the end in order to get to the car before it was pitch black.
This hike was a great end to an amazing day full of fossils + gorgeous colors + exploration.
**If you didn’t catch the post on Painted Hills, check it out. It gives you a totally different perspective to the John Day Fossil Beds.