Custom Trips for Families & Groups
Imagine seeing fossils of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago, exploring canyons where people have been camping for thousands of years, or hiking into a remote meadow filled with wildflowers.
Imagine your dream day trip through the multi-colored landscapes of the John Day Fossil Beds.
The Oregon Paleo Lands Institute can make it happen.
We offer:
Trip planning:
Whether you want to explore Wheeler County ghost towns and scenic byways by car, photograph wildflowers, collect rocks, cycle our backroads, or explore a wilderness area afoot, we’ll be happy to help you plan your adventure, choose destinations and places to stay, and find interesting routes to get here. We can connect you with geology anywhere in Oregon. This service is free. E-mail us or call us at (541) 763-4480.
Custom Guided Trips:
Would you like to explore ancient volcanoes and lake beds with a geologist? Take your family to watch nesting raptors? Learn about wildflowers and try your hand at learning watercolor painting? Visit a working ranch? We offer custom trips and classes for individuals, families, schools and other groups. We’ll provide an expert guide who can teach you new skills, take you to extraordinary locales, and explain and interpret the landscape. Let us know what you want to do, and we’ll make it happen. Prices start at $100 for a half-day. Custom trip fees help support our ongoing outdoor education programs.

Here are some examples of previous Custom Guided Trips:
- A day of hiking and watercolors in the Painted Hills for a family of four.
- Learn digital photography through a day of photographing wildflowers and landscapes in the Painted Hills and an evening of work on our computers, for a group of five.
- A bus tour of geology for 22 people in the Columbia River Gorge
- A day-hike to find petrified trees and fossils on trails in the John Day Fossil beds, for a family group of four

Please contact us at least a week in advance of your trip so we can plan a great adventure with the right guide.
Have questions? E-mail us
or
call (541) 763-4480
Tuesday - Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.




