petrified forest national park

There is nothing to dislike at this park. If you like beautiful scenery, hiking, and being around natural formations, this is the place to go. The Painted Desert is unlike anything you ever saw, and the petrified wood is beautiful. One of the most beautiful national parks we have ever been, and we have been to many. A must see.

An overlooked national park that is well worth the visit for both its natural and ancient history aspects. We are very glad we stopped by.

Make time for this one--you can do the drive through the park in a few hours, allowing for short walking excursions to see the Crystal Forest and a few other highlights, or you can make it an extended day trip. Either way, don't miss it. One helpful hint--the north and south visitors' centres have the same stuff and show the same film, so you only need to stop for one. Another hint--make sure you stop for at least one of the scenic overlooks north of I40--the views of the Painted Desert are spectacular and should not be missed.

The Petrified Forest National Park should be on your bucket list if you're at all interested in stepping back in time and seeing some beautiful geology. The petrified wood or should I say, "entire trees" need to be seen to be believed. Be sure and have your camera with you. The Painted Desert is an artists canvas of color and there are numerous short and easy walks/hikes you can take to further your adventure. If you want a longer, more difficult hike, those are out there as well. Be sure and hydrate well and carry plenty of water with you. All petrified wood and other objects are protected in this park and cannot be removed. There is a lot of life here as well as ancient history in the form of petroglyphs as found at Newspaper Rock. If you're just driving through doing some of the short hikes, one day would be enough, however, if you want to explore a bit, two or more days are possible. This is a fantastic National Park.

We have visited most of the US National Parks and were fortunate to be in the area to visit this one as well. Park sits between I-40 and Hwy 180 near Holbrook, Arizona. A road between these two major highways splits the park and is 40+ miles long. Along this highway you can stop and various points of interest to view natural wonders. A visitor center sits off I-40 and a Museum and a total "forest" of petrified trees sits at the southern entrance (Hwy 180). $10 entrance fee. Gas available at northern entrance. Several short hikes (1 mile). Definitely a unique and different national park.

For a $10.00 entrance fee per vehicle you are able to see petrified logs dating back to over 200 million years ago. There are 3 visitor centers in the park. The Painted Desert Visitor Center, Rainbow Forest Museum and Painted Desert Inn National Historical Landmark, which showcases exhibits. The Park Road is 28 miles long. There are several hiking trails to choose from. Long Logs Trails is a 0.06 mile trail through the largest concentration of petrified wood. Dogs are welcome on all the trails as long as they are on a leash. Dogs are not allowed in the visitor centers. The best view for the Painted Desert was the Kachina Point. Be aware water is not available in the back country; therefore, carry your own. You can obtain a free permit for overnight camping at any of the visitor centers.

Able to visit and see the petrified trees without a great deal of hiking. The visitor centre was very informative

There is a HUGE Amount of Petrified Wood from tropical trees that grew here 200 million years ago. There are many areas where you are able to get a close look at and handle this petrified wood. As with all National Parks, nothing can be removed. There are also many trails available to walk or hike. All the trails are an easy walk and most are paved. There is a museum at the south end of the park just off Hwy. 180. Outside the back door of this museum is an easy paved trail that meanders around and through a huge amount of petrified wood. Here you will walk past a 10 foot in diameter petrified tree stump that is sure to get your attention. This trail is perhaps 0.5 mile in length.The "Blue Mesa" trail is about a mile in length, round trip, and is also paved. We took this trail on a sunny afternoon and were captivated by the beauty of the smallish canyons with the variety of color and shadows. Along most of this trail you will also see lots of petrified wood, some an small as wood chips and others as large logs. There is elevation to get down to the canyons and back up. We highly recommend taking this trail.We also walked the 0.5 mile easy paved trail around a Native American village site. There is information posted throughout this trail explaining the daily life of this pre-history village. This is a loop trail.There are other trails available, all of which are easy & paved. In addition, you will have numerous pull-offs to observe the scenery and additional petrified wood. The Visitor Center is located just off I-40. This Visitor Center covers both the Petrified Forest and the adjacent Painted Desert. There is a restaurant & store adjacent to the Visitor Center. Approximately 0.5 miles NE of the Visitor Center is the 100 year old "Painted Desert Inn" which is maintained as is was in the late 1940's. You get a real look at what a traveler would experience in over-night lodging during this era.This Inn is staffed by the park service. We found the Petrified Forest very interesting. We were also surprised how much more there is to see and do here that we originally expected.

Can't see anything from the interstate as you drive by, but once inside the park it is breathtaking as well as educational. Driving thru the park is a breeze and worth the price of the ticket. Planning on going back soon !

We spent one day in this park, which gave us time for one hike, driving the scenic drive with stops at many of the overlooks, and visiting the former inn. The Painted Desert was stunning and held many "aaah" moments for us. February was a great time to visit, and we practically had the place to ourselves. The ranger told us the park is not visited by nearly as many people as when Route 66 was still active. That is really unfortunate, we say.

This quiet, tucked away National Park deserves better recognition. The vistas of the Painted Desert, the Badlands and the fossilized tree trunks from 220 million years ago are so worth a detour. Give yourself a minimum of two hours for a wander amongst these beautiful ancient giants, and take a bottle of water to bring the colors back to life if they're a little dulled by the dust of the desert.

We took the south entrance to Petrified Forest NP and began with a viewing of the movie in the visitor's center. Learned a lot! Stopped at all of the lookouts to see what there was to see. Crossed the Interstate and viewed the Painted Desert.

Always like going to petrified forrest. A natural wonder of the world. A+++. Great to visit all times of summer

What we didn't expect were the trails you can go out on and get up close safely. You can easily spend an entire day there. It is worth seeing for sure!

The Petrified Forest National Park is just off the Interstate 40 in Holbrook, AZ. It has a smaller Visitor Center than many National Parks, but a friendly and helpful staff and an orientation movie.The drive through the park takes you to a number of turnouts with dramatic views of the Painted Desert in the North of the Park. There is a short rim trail that gives diverse perspectives and opportunities for pictures. Further along the drive there are pueblo ruins and impressive petroglyphs. At the South end of the park, the Crystal Forest Trail wends it's way through many petrified logs. They are diverse in color and size. It is described as the largest concentration of petrified logs in the world. Almost as impressive as the logs themselves is that there are still so many intact and in the Park given the historic exploitation. A credit to the National Park Service and responsible citizens.Well worth a stop and spending half a day.