Painted Hill is 1 of the 7 Wonders in Oregon. Painted Hills is located about 4 hours east of Portland, but it is definitely possible to do a day trip from Portland if you go there early. Since Painted Hill is located on the East side of the Cascade Mountains, the climate is quite dry there. As you can see from the photo above, the hill looks like it is colored by the painted brush.
Although Painted Hill is 1 of the 7 wonders, not many people go to Painted Hill because it is quite far and it is in the middle of nowhere. To get to Painted Hill from Portland, you will drive down HWY 26 to the East through Mount Hood National Forest. It is very interesting to see the change of landscape once you get out of Cascade Mountains. The climate is very dry on the East side of Cascade Mountains. You will only see few small trees and bushes along the highway. Once you are almost at Painted Hill, you will make a left turn onto a dirty road toward Painted Hill overlook.
Painted Hill area offers few short hikes for people to work around and learn about the geology in the region. The first hike is at Painted Hill overlook. From the parking lot to the overlook is only 0.5 miles with small elevation gain. From the overlook, you will be able to capture amazing photos of Painted Hill. This small hiking trail is suitable for everyone to hike on.
The second trail is Carrol Rim Trail. The trail head is on the opposite side of Painted Hill overlook. You don't really have to move your car and you can simply just walk down to the trail head. This trail is not difficult either, but it may be challenging for elder folks. This trail does have some elevation gain and some part of trail are very narrow for people to walk on. Thus when you take this trail, please pay extra attention to what you step on. Once you get to the top, you will have a 360 degree view of the entire region!
The third trail is Painted Cove Trail. You will drive about 1 minute from Painted Hill overlook to Painted Cove. The trail at Painted Cove is very easy. The trail has board walk for people to walk on and essentially no elevation gain. The trail takes you to walk through few small Painted Hills and give you a close look at the formation of the hill. When you hike this trail, make sure you stay on the board walk and do not step on Painted Hills! We still want to preserve the unique formation for other people to visit!
The last trail at Painted Hill is Leaf Hill Trail. I wouldn't really call this a trail, because the trail essentially just make a small loop around a small hill with trees; however, it is still interesting to pay a visit to Leaf Hill Trail. Along the trail, you will find a lot of leaf fossils along the trail. It is quite an unique experience since you don't get to see fossils of leafs everyday. You can pick up the leaf fossils and have a close look at it, but please don't take the fossil home. If everyone takes a fossil home when they pay a visit, there will be no leaf fossil left for future visitors to look at.
In addition, be aware that there are private areas in the region that you should not trespass. The signs are very clear so it is easy to spot it.
Lastly, as previously mentioned, the climate is very dry and hot. Make sure you stay hydrated and apply sun screen at all time! Enjoy your trip the the 7 Wonders of Oregon!
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