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Wheeler County

3.0 (1 review)

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Recommended Reviews - Wheeler County

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16 years ago

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Painted Hills Unit, John Day Fossil Beds - Hills

Painted Hills Unit, John Day Fossil Beds

4.6(44 reviews)
0.0 km

I love the Painted Hills and have been here often, both on my own and with my family…read more This location is absolutely gorgeous and so far away from any modern city that it makes it an incredible day trip or even an overnight camping destination (at approved campground areas, of course). There are several scenic locations mapped out for small, short hikes, as well as some longer hiking options. One area has a raised bed of wooden planks that allows you to walk over the hills, ensuring that none of the soil is disturbed. The colours on these hills is glorious and the markers read an incredible story about how the earth around the area developed the way that it did. On top of that, the wildlife viewing is absolutely incredible and the silence is stunning, when no one else is around. I've been there in high heat as well as summer squalls and I've always been impressed and awed by the sight. Because of the distance to here from any major urban location, it's pretty likely that anyone you run into here is dedicated to coming to this one place. That makes for a remarkably respectful and appreciative community of people out to experience the same thing you are. This place isn't overrun with screaming tourists and gaggles of busses, overloading the area and throwing garbage everywhere. It's about a two hour drive from Bend to get here and worth every minute of it. Food options are limited in the area. Mitchell, OR is nearby and I have to say; the town is really leaning into being a stop for those visiting the Painted Hills. There's a few places there to check in at, but not a lot of options. The real splendor of coming here is the quiet and isolation that's so hard to find anymore in our crowded area. The rangers who keep this place up to snuff do an incredible job, as well, and deserve a lot of credit for this beautiful location. Definitely a great location in eastern Oregon.

The Painted Hills Unit of the John Day National Monument was indeed a very scenic and beautiful…read moresight seeing stop as we were in the Bend, Oregon area. After seeing Yelp entries I am kind of kicking myself for not proceeding to the Painted Cove area as the walk through there looks amazing. We just stopped at the main Painted Hills and did not proceed further. But what we saw was beautiful. With the three primary colors of yellow, red and black you can see the layers of these colors in the Hills. The texture of the Hills are amazing too. And I suppose depending on the angle of the sun enhances these textures as far as appearance goes. You can see little trails all through these Hills and at first I thought they were hiking trails for people but they are indeed wildlife trails and people are to not go on them. There are signs all over that go into the history here and it is both fascinating and beautiful. We were here mid-morning but I am told the colors really get enhanced at sunrise or sunset.

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Painted Hills Unit, John Day Fossil Beds
Painted Hills Unit, John Day Fossil Beds
Painted Hills Unit, John Day Fossil Beds - Beautiful and scenic Hills!

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Beautiful and scenic Hills!

Smith Rock Trail Rides - Me & Hubby with Slim & Sunny

Smith Rock Trail Rides

5.0(13 reviews)
79.6 km

Our experience with Smith Rock Trail Rides was amazing. Brian was kind, fun, and attentive--an…read moreabsolutely amazing person to have lead these trail rides. He gave us great directions on how to ride and lead our horse, and stopped many times to take photos of our group. The views were GORGEOUS. Butterflies everywhere. They also have an adorable little puppy that made our time there extra sweet. I will definitely be coming back! Thank you!

This is an absolute must-do if you're thinking about visiting Smith Rock. My husband and I have…read morehiked Smith Rock before, but being able to see it on horseback is just a whole different experience. The trail itself gets you up close to the rock formations of Smith Rock. Let me tell you, the scenery, the canyons, and the gorge that you get to see are spectacular. I really like how this company only does one ride a day and keep the groups small, we had only 5 ppl in our group. It kept things less hectic and I felt safer knowing our guide was able to keep an eye on all of us. Our guide Brian was super helpful and knowledgeable. He made sure you were comfortable on your horse and was very thorough with his instructions on the basics in order to enjoy your ride. He also gets extra points for taking great photos! We got to ride Slim & Sunny. Both horses were really sweet and easy to ride. You could tell Brian and his wife Melanie take great care of their horses. They know them pretty well and match each rider to their horse. No matter your experience level, I think anyone will have a good time and smith rock trial rides makes sure of that :)

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Smith Rock Trail Rides
Smith Rock Trail Rides
Smith Rock Trail Rides

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The Paulina Plunge - Great News- the kid from Oklahoma who took the wrong trail and got lost most of the day is now a state champion wrestler.

The Paulina Plunge

4.3(39 reviews)
130.2 km

This was an ok trip but I had mixed feelings about it…read more Pros: The guide was nice (we had Lane), which made the ride more enjoyable. He knew all of our names before we even left the parking lot. The trail was in good shape from recent rain so a beginner would have no trouble participating. Cons: The email confirmation and website mentioned the bike shortage and that riders had to be a minimum of 4 ft tall with a 24 inch inseam but didn't really explain how to measure that, etc. Sure, I know what an inseam in pants is, but turns out an inseam measurement for bike riding is different. Would have been nice to know without having to look it up the night before and then worry my kid wouldn't be tall enough. Lots of standing around. We were on the 10-4 tour and though we arrived at 9:45 no one directed us to have our kids take the bike test to see if they could go and nobody got fitted for bikes until everyone in the booking had arrived. Then, the large 10 am group was split into two smaller groups and if you were in the second group, you had to stand around for 20 minutes killing time to give the first group a head start. Why not just stagger the starts and have a 10 am and a 10:30? From a customer perspective this sort of sucked. This was billed as a Mountain bike ride with waterfalls and slides, but it was more like, walking/hiking to see 3 waterfalls and then a very mellow 3 mile single track ride to finish. It would have been nice to sort people by skill or interest (shorter vs longer rides) as we definitely had some gung ho dudes in our group and some newbies like me. Two of the waterfalls (at least) were accessible via McKay campground, which was a little disappointing. I thought we would be off the beaten path, checking out a little known spot, etc. Overall, our young kids, 8 and 10 enjoyed it and had fun. It was their first time mountain biking. I'd rate the ride and scenery 4 stars but the administration and organization only 2 stars (I'm a fan of efficiency and customer service) , hence my 3 star rating.

Was excited to go. Day of the trip for our group smoke was heavy. Hazardous in fact. His terms and…read moreconditions explain that you must show up no matter what the conditions. From there the group will vote and you must conform to the group decision. We were the only ones who showed up. The owner, Todd, decided after getting various voice messages the day before and the morning of, but he would cancel the event. Great! No pick up the phone and call your customers to make sure they don't waste their time and come all the way out to the top of a mountain only to find your experience was canceled. He claimed to have sent a text in the early morning hours. But I didn't get it until after the fact. Oh well, not great but not terrible. Did waste a lot of our time driving out there on a horrific weather day for smoke. Talked to Todd personally later, and he said "no problem I'll give your money back." Refund it all of it except our deposit, then wouldn't answer the phone or return multiple calls. In my final message I reminded him of his neglect as a business owner and a conscientious honest human. Told him repeatedly he needed to refund my deposit, as there were no terms or discussion of anything other than a full refund. Really annoying to deal with business owners who aren't conscientious. Really detracts from your credibility. So here's the review I promise to leave you if you went another two weeks without returning my calls again. Gave you four chances Todd.

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The Paulina Plunge - At the third waterfall.  Such a great time

At the third waterfall. Such a great time

The Paulina Plunge
The Paulina Plunge - A swallowtail resting beside one of the waterfalls

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A swallowtail resting beside one of the waterfalls

Skydive Awesome - Gorgeous mountain views under canopy

Skydive Awesome

4.6(9 reviews)
79.6 km

It's taken me a few days to process so I can write this review, so here we go. Let me start by…read moresaying, the name of this place lives up to the experience and the service! If you are even remotely thinking of visiting them, you better do it, otherwise you are cheating yourself from one of the most amazing experiences you will ever have! I would like to note that I was in communication with these guys for over 2 weeks trying to get everything organized with our group of what was supposed to be 18, but we lost a friend in a car accident the day before we were going to arrive on July 4th. We collectively decided this would be a wonderful way to honor him and still go. The entire staff was so accommodating and sympathetic to our situation and I feel went above and beyond to make us comfortable in such a strange time. Or instructors were both very nice and very professional. It was the 4th of July, and they organized a cookout with some brats and bbq. I made some side dishes to bring out and we all got to have a nice lunch while we waited on each other to jump. We also brought the dogs with us and they were super doggie friendly. 10/10 would recommend and we will probably be trying to head back before we leave Oregon. Thanks for such a wonderful experience and my awesome video!

Loved my experience here! My son went a few weeks ago, while I was just a bystander. They were so…read moreamazing I wanted to take a turn too. Today I went with my husband, both on tandem jumps and the whole experience was top notch, start to finish. Great people who love what they do and want you to love it too!

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Skydive Awesome
Skydive Awesome
Skydive Awesome

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Wheeler County - active - Updated May 2026

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