Painted Hills Unit Painted Hills Vividly colored, red, black, and tan striped hills make up part of the lower John Day Formation. The color variation reflects changes in ancient soils and vegetation during a major global cooling event approximately 33 million years ago. The volcanic ash that accumulated here and formed these colorful deposits, also records the onset of Cascade volcanism. Wildflowers The Painted Hills are one of the most frequently photographed areas of Oregon, especially during wildflower season. During the spring and summer, the Painted Hills Ranger maintains a wildflower hotline that provides a current report of what is in bloom. The wildflower hotline number is 541-462-3961. The best time to photograph the Painted Hills during all seasons is in the evening, near sunset. Picnic Area This landscaped area provides restrooms, water, shaded picnic tables, and exhibits. Painted Hills Overlook A stunning viewpoint is also the gateway to a ½-mile trail allowing visitors to see the colorful landscape from different angles. Carroll Rim Trail A moderately strenuous 1 ½ mile trail rewards hikers with an outstanding aerial view of the Painted Hills, surrounding canyons, and Sutton Mountain. Painted Cove Trail A short ¼ mile trail winds around a crimson and ochre hill, permitting a close-up view of popcorn-textured claystones that expand when wet and a rhyolite flow that marks the transition between the Clarno and John Day Formations. Leaf Hill Trail A short ¼ mile trail with an exhibit describes this site, where thousands of plant fossils have been removed for scientific study and where research continues. Leaf Hill is an example of "inverted topography," as this present-day hill is made of deposits that were once in the bottom of a lake. Leaf fossils preserved in lake deposits throughout the Painted Hills portray changing deciduous forest communities.