Oregon Badlands Wilderness, Wilderness area in Deschutes County, United States

Oregon Badlands Wilderness is a 29,301-acre expanse of high desert east of Bend, covered in low grasses, sagebrush and scattered western juniper. A line of taller junipers crosses open ground toward low pale hills. The lava beneath came from a rootless vent of Newberry Volcano about 80,000 years ago, leaving pressure ridges and an irregular pit crater.

The area received federal protection through legislation signed in 2009 after decades of local advocacy efforts. This designation recognized the region's geological and ecological significance.

Native American pictographs are found within the wilderness, and the Oregon Desert Trail's western terminus lies here, drawing long-distance hikers. The area is also where blind Iditarod racer Rachel Scdoris trained her sled dogs.

Five trailheads connect over 50 miles of paths throughout the wilderness for year-round exploration. Hikers and riders can use these routes in any season.

A collapsed lava tube created a rootless shield volcano with an unusual pit crater at its summit here. This geological oddity results from a rare volcanic process.