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5. Giant Logs Trail
You haven’t seen petrified wood until you’ve stopped to see the impressive display of large petrified trees that await you at Giant Logs!
What You Need to Know
I don’t think this trail is the best place to see petrified wood—it’s busy, crowded, and very developed.
BUT you do need to go here to see “Old Faithful.” This giant petrified tree (that measures almost 10 feet across at its base) is definitely worth the stop.
The loop is 0.4 miles roundtrip.
Getting Here
This trail is located in the southern area of the park. You will find the trailhead right behind the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center.
6. Puerco Pueblo and Newspaper Rock
You’ll find many fascinating points of interest highlighting Native American culture in this area of the country — and Petrified Forest is no exception. Take a moment to explore these small Ancestral Puebloan homes and the petroglyphs they left behind.
What You Need to Know
Puerco Pueblo and Newspaper Rock are two separate stops along the highway but are very near to one another, and both are worth a stop.
At Puerco Pueblo, you can walk among the ruins and view a few petroglyphs along a 0.3-mile roundtrip walk. The petroglyphs are unique because of the way they were used to keep track of the seasons and the passage of time.
Newspaper Rock is an incredible display of over 650 petroglyphs; some are estimated to be as old as 2,000 years! You aren’t able to get very close to the petroglyphs, so I highly recommend bringing your own binoculars to get a really good look.
Getting Here
Both of these sights are located in the southern area of the park, within just a few miles of each other.
From the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center, drive north on the park road for approximately 14 miles until you see the turn-off for Newspaper Rock. Follow this short road to the parking area and overlook.
From Newspaper Rock, drive 1 more mile north on the park road to the parking area for Puerco Pueblo.
7. Long Logs and Agate House Loop
Instead of seeing pieces of petrified wood, why not see whole trees that have been petrified?! This trail travels through an ancient log jam that has been frozen in time — some logs here are as long as 180 feet!
What You Need to Know
You’ll find two trails in this area: Long Logs and Agate House. You can choose to do one or the other to shorten your hike, but completing both at the same time makes a 2.6-mile loop trail. I recommend doing both if you can.
The Long Logs Loop takes you through the log jam and highlights what makes Petrified Forest National Park so cool. After completing that part of your hike, head on over to Agate House. This is a small Native American pueblo that is built out of petrified wood!
Getting Here
This loop trail is located in the southern area of the park. You’ll want to park your car at the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center near the gift shop building. Walk north on the sidewalk along the park road (continuing to head further away from the Visitor Center) for about 5 minutes until you get to the marked trailhead.
8. Off-the-Beaten-Path Hike
Are you ready to experience the magic of the Petrified Forest by hiking a trail that’s not marked on the park map? Step out into the wilderness areas of the park that very few people ever explore!
What You Need to Know
Off-the-beaten-path hiking is encouraged in this park, but it’s important to choose an area within your level of experience. It would not be fun to get lost in this unforgiving desert climate!
For your first time in the park, I’d suggest choosing between Martha’s Butte, Jasper Forest, or Blue Forest, depending on your skill level. You can find more information about these and several other great options here.
We absolutely loved the Jasper Forest hike. The Jasper Forest Overlook is just ok — but when you leave the overlook and head down the off-the-beaten path, it’s spectacular!! I’ve never seen such beautiful petrified wood.
It’s definitely worth the extra effort to explore the phenomenal wilderness areas of Petrified Forest.
Getting Here
For driving directions to the various suggested off-the-beaten-path hikes, check out these trail guides.
Enjoy your time in Petrified Forest National Park. Happy trails!
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!