Traveling through Oregon’s diverse landscapes, ranging from coastal beaches to high deserts, can sometimes lead you to places that look like they belong on an alien planet. With trails that lead you through volcanic glass to ancient forests trapped in lava flows to hillsides that bleed red and orange, these spots around the state are like nothing you’ve seen before.
We all love Oregon for its waterfalls, high volcanic peaks, and incredible towns, but sometimes it’s fun to escape reality and take in sights that reawaken the senses with their mysterious look and feel.
So, let’s hit the road and travel around the great state of Oregon to discover some of these spots that look like they belong on another planet.
Painted Hills
Located deep in the remote John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, the painted hills are the main attraction in this seldom-visited part of Oregon. They are definitely worth the drive, though, especially after a good rain, as the hillsides pop with oranges, yellows, and reds that make this area feel totally out of this world.
While this area can get popular on warm weekends, there is still plenty of space to spread out and enjoy the hills in solitude, which only enhances the otherworldly feel.
Alvord Desert
The Alvord Desert is a dried-up lake bed that is nearly 12 miles long by 7 miles wide and is perfectly flat along the entire surface. This makes the area a playground for folks looking to experience the thrill of driving or riding a bike for miles in any direction in terrain that never changes (just watch out for mud!)
While the wind can get fierce at times, it is worth spending a night out in the middle of the lake, where you’ll get some of the best views of the stars you’ll ever see.
Oregon Dunes
The Oregon Dunes stretch for nearly 40 miles up the Oregon Coast and are a playground for dune buggies and off-road enthusiasts. There are still plenty of places along the dunes where you can escape to solitude and get lost within these massive hills of sand that can reach up to 500 feet tall in places!
With the ever-changing shapes of the dunes, every adventure to this natural wonder will feel brand new.
Lava Cast Forest
This Central Oregon oddity was formed over 7,000 years ago when nearby lava flows passed through the area’s forests. The lava wrapped around the trees and burned them away, leaving hollow casts where they once stood.
Today, you can hike a trail that winds its way through the area where this ancient forest once stood and watch a new forest poke its way up through the lava rock.
Dee Wright Observatory
The Dee Wright Observatory stands in the middle of a massive lava flow at the top of McKenzie Pass in Central Oregon. This structure, made from chunks of lava rock, was built in the 1930s at the site that was once a wagon trail cut through this massive lava flow.
Today, the McKenzie Pass highway cuts through this harsh environment, making it much easier for travelers to reach this desolate area.
Owyhee Canyons
Located in one of the most remote sections of Oregon, the Owyhee Canyonlands offer up an area where cell service is non-existent, and visitors are few and far between. This vast area of unprotected wilderness offers up deep canyons, hot springs bubbling up alongside the river, massive hoodoos, and the feeling of being truly alone within the great outdoors.
Note that services are few and far between, so be prepared if you choose to venture deep into this area.
Neskowin Ghost Forest
When walking the beach along the tidal zones, the only trees you’d normally expect to see are driftwood logs washed in from the ocean. But at the Neskowin Ghost Forest on the Oregon Coast, you can walk amongst the remains of a 2,000-year-old Sitka spruce forest that has managed to survive millennia of storms and tides rolling in off the Pacific.
Scientists believe that this forest once stood above the waterline, and an earthquake caused the ground to sink, dropping the forest into the ocean. While the tops of the trees are long gone, the bases of the trunks remain as the saltwater inhibits the growth of fungus that would normally cause these logs to rot away within decades.
This area becomes extra spooky on foggy coastal mornings when you can only see a few yards ahead.
Obsidian Flow Trail
This trail winds its way through lava flows high in the mountains near Paulina Peak of Central Oregon, taking you through a world that has turned into glass. Obsidian is formed when lava quickly cools, and the resulting rock has a glass-like surface that can be used to form extraordinarily sharp tools.
The Obsidian Flow Trail takes you through an impressive amount of obsidian from a relatively recent lava flow. Just make sure to stay on the trail, as these rocks are extremely sharp!
Oregon Caves
Oregon is full of caves that range from old lava flow tubes to naturally formed sea caves along the coast. They all have their own unique environments that range from natural amphitheaters that only extend a few hundred yards back to caves that stretch for miles just feet below the surface above.
The most popular caves across the state are the Oregon Caves National Monument in Southern Oregon, the Sea Lion Caves on the coast, and the Lava River Cave in Central Oregon.
