GSOC members can attend geological field trips led by professional geologists.

Field trips include both short local field trips and more adventurous multi-day overnight trips. Most trips require registering participants to be GSOC members. Registrants should be logged in before attempting to register.

GSOC is working hard to plan field trips for 2025. Please stay tuned for more information, which will be announced in the bimonthly email to members. The posted schedule on the home page will be revised and official trip descriptions added below in the Field Trips preparing for registration section as plans are set.

Members should receive an email shortly after midnight on the eve of the registration kickoff date that will contain a registration link. Registration dates are shown on the field trip schedule on the home page of the website. Members should use the button on the email to register - please disregard the button shown on the website because our membership platform adds those automatically and they don’t go to the right page for signup. Each member will only be able to register themselves and one guest. If you want to go, register as soon as possible because our trips are popular and sell out quickly.

Field Trip Preliminary Descriptions

This section is included to give prospective field trip participants preliminary information about trips being planned, so they may reserve (refundable) lodging accommodations and add the trips they are interested in attending on their calendars. Most GSOC field trips are self-catered (we do not provide food, lodging, or transportation). We cannot guarantee that everyone who wants to participate on a particular trip will be able to register, as participation on most field trips is limited due to space requirements.

Oregon Calderas Trip

May 31 – June 1, 2025

This trip has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We’re very sorry, but please keep an eye on the field trip schedule for developments and a possible rescheduling this year or next!

Deep Time in the Spokane Area

June 20 - 23, 2025 plus optional overnight stay in Republic, Washington, on June 23.

Registration will open May 24. See registration info packet below. Members will receive a registration email on May 24 with registration link. Questions can be sent to Carol Hasenberg.

John Day Fossil Beds: A Record of Change

September 25-27, 2025

The John Day Fossil Beds, an area of about 20,000 sq. miles located about 50 miles east of Madras, Oregon, is the only site in North America that nearly spans the Cenozoic Era, known as the Age of Mammals. The strata and fossils found here record an extraordinary 40 million year record of climatic and evolutionary change in a very dynamic tectonic and volcanic region. The John Day Fossil Beds consist of eight overlapping fossil-bearing rock layers scattered through central and eastern Oregon. Along with the unique fossil assemblage, including trackways, there are remnants of past volcanic eruptions, soils, fluvial systems, lakes, prairies, and forests. This record occurs in an ordered sequence well interspersed with datatable rock layers. Exploration and study continue today with hundreds of specimens added to the collections each year.

On this trip, we will explore the three separate units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument: Clarno, Sheep Rock, and Painted Hills. Our trip guide will be Derek Loeb, a retired geophysicist living in central Oregon, with assistance from Dr. Nicholas Famoso, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Paleontology Program Manager and Museum Curator, and his staff. Trip dates are September 25 – 27. We will travel by car caravan each day. Day one will be in the Clarno Unit, beginning at 11:00 am to allow for travel from Portland, and include an approximate 4-mile loop hike. Day two will include a behind the scenes tour of the Thomas Condon Palaeontology Center and a guided trip into the Sheep Rock Unit to dig for fossils. Any fossil found must remain as property of the museum. Day three will be in the Painted Hills Unit and will include several short hikes. The trip will finish by mid-afternoon on September 27 to allow time for the return trip to the Portland area.

GSOC has reserved lodging for participants at the River Bend Motel in Spray, Oregon,, for the nights of September 25 and 26. The hotel can accommodate up to 18 people total (keep in mind that this necessitates sharing rooms or the house). Tent campsites are also available at Haystack Ranch in Spray. The area is very remote without a town of any size nearby. Food and transportation are the responsibility of the participants. Plan to bring all your food — we will have use of a kitchen that is part of the rental at the hotel. This trip will be limited to 20 participants. Trip fee (to be determined) will include options for your lodging choice.  Campsite reservations will be up to the participant to make. Registration will open September 2.