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1. Crystal Forest
In a national park full of petrified wood, the Crystal Forest has everything! Long logs, huge logs, colorful logs, and shimmering logs all adorn the path as you explore this ancient forest of rock.
What You Need to Know
A walk along this short 0.75-mile paved loop is all it takes to see what makes Petrified Forest National Park so special. You’ll often find a park ranger here to answer questions and welcome you to the forest!
And remember — the park closes at specific hours. This trail has a sign letting you know what time it closes. It’s important to respect these hours so that you can get out of the park before the gates get locked.
Getting Here
The Crystal Forest is located at the south end of the national park. To get here from the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center, drive north on the park road for approximately 6 miles. The parking area is well-marked.
2. Painted Desert Rim Trail
Enjoy a walk along the rim of this spectacular, vibrant, and colorful desert landscape! From here, you’ll get a gorgeous view of Arizona’s famous Painted Desert.
What You Need to Know
The Rim Trail is 1-mile roundtrip and connects Tawa Point with the Painted Desert Inn. Take time to enjoy both stops as you begin and end your hike.
Getting Here
This trail is located in the northern section of the park. To get here from the Painted Desert Visitor Center, drive about 2 miles north on the park road until you see the Tawa Point parking area. The trail begins near the informational signs at the overlook.
3. Blue Mesa Trail
Hike among the other-worldly badlands and logs along the Blue Mesa Trail. Discover the vibrant striations in the surrounding rocks and the stunning yellow and red petrified wood that covers the ground!
What You Need to Know
This trail is only 1-mile roundtrip, but it is a steep descent down into the badlands so expect a challenge.
If you prefer not to hike down to the bottom, Blue Mesa Drive offers beautiful views of the area with pullouts along the road.
Either way, this area shouldn’t be missed!
Getting Here
The Blue Mesa area is located in the southern part of the park. To get here from the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center, drive north for about 10 miles until you see the sign for Blue Mesa Drive. Turn right here and follow the loop around until you see a large parking area and a sun shelter. The trail starts here.
4. Route 66
This famous old-time road travels all over this area of Arizona! Stop at this pullout to see a 1932 Studebaker and learn more about this road that once cut right through the park.
What You Need to Know
You can pull right off the road to snap a picture and learn more about the historic Route 66.
There’s not much here, so if you’re looking for an actual Route 66 town, I suggest driving into Holbrook (just 26 miles from the Painted Desert Visitor Center). There are some fun points of interest in town, including the motel that inspired the Cozy Cone Motel from the Disney movie Cars—my 3-year-old loved that!
Getting Here
This pull-out is located in the northern area of the park. To get here from the Painted Desert Visitor Center, drive along the park road for about 7 miles. The parking area is located just before you cross over Interstate 40.
Click NEXT to see sights 5-8 (including some of the biggest and longest petrified wood in the park!)
I will only have around 2 hours in Petrified Forest / Painted Desert given the 5pm closure. Planning on going to Little Painted Desert County Park to catch sunset after leaving the park. I assume with my short time there that any of the hikes are out of the question. That being the case which viewpoints do you recommend driving to?? Coming from the west and plan on entering the Park from the southern entrance via 108 and driving up. Does that make sense to do as well??
Thanks so much!
PS: I’ve purchased your guides for Bryce and Zion and can’t wait for my trip to the southwest next week.
Yeah, that’s the way I’d go in…it gets you closer to the petrified wood portion of the park! If you can, I’d try to get to Blue Forest, Crystal Forest, and Giant Logs in that amount of time. It might be cutting it close, but you may be able to do all three.
If you don’t want to spend your time driving up to Blue Mesa, you could hang out down by Giant Logs and Crystal Forest, and then add on the Long Logs or Agate House hike with any time you have left.
Either way, you’ll see a ton of petrified wood!
Hi Ash! I am a retired lawyer (I was a prosecutor for many years)…I got bored in retirement so I went back to college and earned an Anthropology degree, with an emphasis on Southwest Archaeology. While I enjoy archaeology in general, I focus my travels on rock art. I have been fortunate to visit many beautiful rock art sites in the US, Mexico, and Australia. I ran across your website while planning a trip to Petrified Forest National Park (PFNP). I have visited the park twice before and have visited Newspaper Rock and Puerco Pueblo to experience the rock art there. For my upcoming trip, I plan to spend several days at the park and hike to some backcountry rock art sites. I see that the park has guided hikes (last ones scheduled are in March of this year) to Martha’s Butte, Petroglyph Mesa, and Petroglyph Canyon. I have contacted the park and am waiting a call back as to whether they will be offering these guided hikes in late April or early May (I am taking my second vaccine shot on 3-29-21 and plan to wait at least two weeks before I travel). May I ask a couple of questions that I hope will help me plan my trip? First, if there are no guided hikes scheduled, will I be allowed to hike to the above locations by myself? There are other sites/areas I would like to visit such as the Flatiron Panel, Lacy Point, and Billings Gap….the PFNP website says the park encourages back country off trail explorations, but really doesn’t give any specifics. Do I need a permit to hike to these areas? Is there anyone at the park that you recommend I talk to in my effort to experience as much rock art as possible? I thank you in advance for your kind attention to my inquiries.
Hey Tom,
Sounds amazing! If those guided hikes are not available when you go, you should still be able to hike to those areas on your own. They provide route maps at the visitor centers, so be sure to plan in some time to stop by and talk to a ranger before you hike. You shouldn’t need a permit if you don’t plan on camping overnight in the backcountry, with the exception of the Devil’s Playground. Have a fabulous time!!
How long would you say it takes to hit these spots? It seems like it could be done under 8 hours.
If you decide to hike one of the off-the-beaten-path trails, then you may need to add an extra hour or two. But otherwise, you can complete all of these things in a day if you move at a moderate pace!
My family and I were there in 1975. At that time you were able to to get close to “Newspaper Rock” because I took a couple of Polaroid pix. I enjoyed reading your article, and I’m curious if you know when it was placed “off limits”? Thanks, Mildred Harrison
I’m not sure when they changed that, but how fun to have been able to see it up close!
We will be traveling with my elderly mother whose ability to walk long distances is limited. Will we enjoy this from the car and the pull-out areas?
Yeah, you can see a good deal of this park from the car. There are a few short trails you’ll want to take if you can (to get up close to the petrified wood). I’d aim for at least Crystal Forest and Giant Logs if you can get out and walk!
How hard would it be to explore with a blind person she can see a little and wants to see this before she cant see at all.
There are some great paths in the park that take you up-close to the petrified trees. I think you’ll find some great things to do with her!
We will be traveling through this coming March. I have a son with special needs and his ability to hike long distances is pretty limited. I want him to get as much out of this as he can. Each trail is marked clearly on difficulty?
The trails generally have distance and elevation gain information before you begin. There are some wonderful short hikes in that park! If you have any concerns about a particular trail, let me know. He will likely be able to complete most activities from this list. Have a great trip!
Did you hear about the curse of the petrified wood forest? if you take wood from the park, back luck looms over you for the rest of your life?
Haha I believe it!
Awesome article about an awesome place. Please, people, do not take samples.
When I was last there it was extremely windy and we blew all over the place. A must see.
Thank you for your comment — I’m glad you enjoyed the park. Safe travels!