Painted Hills
FreeShort trails and overlooks take you past hills striped in red, tan, orange and black claystone.

Photo: Finetooth, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Mitchell is a sightseeing stop in Mitchell, OR, part of the Central Oregon guide. Cost: free.
202 SE High Street · Mitchell, OR
Mitchell is a small town along U.S. Highway 26 in a canyon of Eastern Oregon, about nine miles from the Painted Hills unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The town has three restaurants, a historic hotel, cottage lodging, and a city park with RV hookups and camping. Mitchell hosts the annual Painted Hills Festival over Labor Day weekend.
The closest stops to Mitchell, ordered by straight-line distance.
Short trails and overlooks take you past hills striped in red, tan, orange and black claystone.
8.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor
Walk short trails past colorful striped claystone hills and see fossils of ancient mammals and plants at the visitor center.
25 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor
Hike or climb among welded tuff spires and 600-foot cliffs above a bend of the Crooked River.
50 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor
Marina resort on Lake Billy Chinook with cabin and houseboat rentals, boat rentals and a lakeside store.
52 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay