All kinds of dinosaurs roamed Fossil, Oregon and the Clarno unit nearly 54-40 million years ago in the lush semi-tropical rainforest environment. Evidence of the plants and animals is still visible in Clarno where you can take a stroll backward in time and catch a scenic view of the landscape and Clarno Arch.
About the Clarno Unit
This is the smallest of the three units in the John Day Fossil Beds. The layers of the Palisades, the craggy cliffside looming above you, were formed when a succession of volcanic, ash-laden mudflows (called lahars) swept through a forested landscape about 45 million years ago. The layers, once deeply buried, have since eroded out forming this cliff.
A jumble of fossils are embedded in these and adjacent rock layers. They are
evidence of a wet, lush, near-tropical forest, with many vines and creepers, similar to the Panamanian jungles today.
Dinosaurs and Plants that lived in Clarno
A wide range of animals lived in what is now Oregon including:
- Tiny four-toed horses
- huge rhino-like brontotheres
- crocodilians
- meat-eating creodonts
They roamed in the ancient jungles of Oregon and have been found in the rocks of the Clarno Unit. The Clarno Unit also captured an incredibly diverse range of plant life. So far, paleontologists (and visitors) have found nuts, fruits, leaves, seeds, and petrified wood from 173 species of trees, vines, & shrubs.
What to do in Fossil, Oregon
The town itself is pretty small but there is tons to do. If you want to dig for fossils you can head to Wheeler County High School. The cost is just $5 and you can keep any fossils you find. Additionally, the John Day River is a popular place for:
- Swimming
- Boating
- Whitewater Rafting
- Hunting
- Fishing
- Gold Panning
Trails at the Clarno Unit near Fossil
Hiking: The best place to hike is in the Clarno Unit near Fossil, Oregon. This unit is one of the John Day Fossil Beds and has three trails. It also has parking, restrooms, and a picnic area very close to the trails. In fact there are two places to park at this unit. The first is by the restrooms and picnic area and the second smaller parking location is further west down 218 where the Clarno Arch trail (dotted line) meets the road.
This is marked as the Palisades trailhead. If you just want to climb up to see the Arch I’d recommend parking there but all the trails are 1/4-1/2 mile so they are quite short.
- Geologic Time Trail (¼ mile each way) This trail connects the picnic area to the trailhead. Signs along the way represent events over the last 50 million years. Each foot of the path represents 37,000 years.
- Trail of Fossils (¼ mile loop) This is the only trail in the park where visitors can easily see fossils in the rock. The large rocks scattered beneath the arches contain dozens of plant fossils from when the area was rainforest nearly 44 million years ago.
- Clarno Arch Trail (¼ mile round trip) The 200-foot climb takes visitors directly under a natural arch carved into the cliff face by erosion. Petrified records are visible in the cliff. (*Recommended)
Total Time: Plan to spend about 1 hour here if you are hiking all three of the trails. If you just hike the smaller ones you could get through it in 15 minutes or so.
Fossil Oregon weather & best time to visit
All three trails in the Clarno unit are listed as year-round hiking trails by the Nation Park Service. I’d recommend going in between March and September. The temperature can get up to 84 degrees in July and August. Not horrible, but just be aware that there’s no shade on the Palisades.
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