The Painted Canyon isn’t so painted when the Canadian wildfires cloud out the sky.
Not So Painted
The Canadian wildfire smoke takes away some of the Painted Canyon’s vivid colors.
The Painted Canyon overlook is highly popular since it’s right off of I-94 and a short walk from the parking lot, and the 1 mile Painted Canyon Nature Trail is also popular since it’s short.
The full hike is not so popular due to the length and elevation, we only crossed one other group of hikers while we were out there.
Upon dropping into the canyon we ran into a bison rubbing himself on a tree, trying to lose his winter coat.
Crossing Guard
We came across this bison scratching himself on a tree in the middle of the trail. After 10 minutes we decided to make a huge detour around since he wasn’t going anywhere.
After videoing him for about ten minutes we realized that he wasn’t going anywhere and made a huge detour around him. Just the day before a woman was gored by a bison right here at Painted Canyon, and it was probably this big guy.
The rest of the canyon is a very nice hike, although hot even with the smoke-clouded sky.
If you’re short on time I’d recommend just doing the overlook and maybe the short nature trail, but this is definitely a much nicer trail than the ones in the center of the Park’s scenic driving loop.
Into the Canyon
This is definitely the nicest trail in the South Unit of the Park.
The Pollinator
It’s not a Shelby-quality shot, but pretty good macro from a Samsung Galaxy S10 camera!
Coal Veins
The lignite coal veins are a very distinct black out here.
Scratch That Itch
Gotta get. That. Spot. Right. Theeeeere.
