Trails at the Sheep Rock Unit

Foree Area

Flood of Fire (0.25 mile) Gently ascending. This trail crosses a ridge to a viewpoint overlooking the John Day River Valley and the surrounding basalt cliffs.

Story in Stone (0.25 mile) Easy. This trail, featuring touchable exhibits, skirts a basin of blue-green claystone of the John Day Formation. The formation contains fossils of mammals which lived here 25 to 30 million years ago. This trail is traversable by wheelchair with moderate difficulty. 

 Blue Basin Area

Island in Time (1 mile) Self-guided nature trail. This gently ascending trail leads to an amphitheater carved out of the blue-green John Day Formation. The volcanic ash, now turned to claystone, yields a rich variety of vertebrate fossils. Interpretive signs and fossil replicas are included along the trail.

Blue Basin Overlook (3 mile) Strenuous, 600 ft. elevation gain. A strenuous, but rewarding, loop trail brings you to a spectacular vista overlooking the John Day River Valley. It is dusty in places and may be impassable in wet weather.

James Cant Ranch Area

River Trail (begins at the James Cant Ranch parking lot, ½  mile hike) Accessible to those in wheelchairs, this trail leads one down to the John Day River. Trail exhibits feature the current natural and cultural surroundings.

Sheep Rock Overlook Trail (begins at the James Cant Ranch house, ½ mile hike)Starting at the front gate,this trail ends at an overlook with a great view of the valley.

Thomas Condon Visitor Center area

Thomas Condon Overlook Trail (begins at the Thomas Condon Visitor Center, ½ mile hike) This trail ends at an overlook with a great view of the valley. It begins at the south end of the parking lot.

Mascall Formation Overlook

one mile south of Picture Gorge off of Route 26, 300’ hike Grand views of the John Day Valley and Picture Gorge await one here. Exhibits along a short trail feature both prehistory and human history.