Welcome to the OREGON PALEO LANDS INSTITUTE - Fossil, Oregon 541-763-4480

FIND TIME! EXPLORE OREGON’S GEOLOGIC AND NATURAL HERITAGE WITH US.

Our mission: Protect, promote, and educate about Oregon’s ancient and living landscapes, including the Earth’s most accessible place to view the past 50 million years of life, while supporting the rural communities of the John Day Basin.

The Oregon Paleo Lands Institute will help you discover Oregon’s past and explore its present landscapes. With the John Day basin as our “home base”, we provide trips, classes, and adventures throughout Oregon. You can fine-tune your skills in photography and art, collect fossils, learn about bats, butterflies, bunchgrass, and bears, earn college credit, float a wild and scenic river, or join us on a cycle trip. Let us guide you on a day hike through Painted Hills onto an ancient beach where pterosaurs flew and plesiosaurs swam. We’ll take you and your family on a customized day hike to collect fossils, touch a 44-million-year-old tree, visit a lakeshore 33 million years old, or volunteer to assist paleontologists in their research.

Download Visitors Guide to the John Day Basin

Just Posted!

More than 40 new field classes, teachers workshops, and adventures. Our 2008 classes are now available for registration!

Download our 2008 Catalogue (4 MB PDF)

Download our 2008 regional natural history DiscoveryBook (6 MB PDF)


Here are just a few examples of our outstanding 2008 schedule!

Click here to see the entire schedule and register

04/19/2008
The Crooked River Caldera: Oregon’s Biggest volcano, and it’s story of climate change

06/6/2008
Rocks and Writing on the John Day River

07/15/2008
The Salmon River Suture

08/7/2008
The High Wallowa Mountains!

Become a Member

Please consider supporting OPLI's educational and recreational mission by becoming an annual member. Just click the button below to learn about the available membership levels.

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Donate

help us connect people with Oregon’s extraordinary geologic history, the lessons of past climate change, and the Northwest’s changing ecosystems. We are the only learning center in Oregon dedicated to the geologic landscape. With your support, we can make outdoor exploration and learning a family activity.