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National park in Arizona, United States
Photo: Jon Sullivan, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Petrified Forest National Park is a national park that is in the Mogollon Rim in eastern Arizona, in the Southwest region. The park takes its name from the remnants of ancient trees which have been transformed into brilliantly colored minerals through a series of geological processes.
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Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark, located at Kachina Point 2 mi from the north entrance at exit #311 off of I-40, once served as a respite for travelers along historic Route 66. From the inn, you may view distant vistas and exhibits while touring this historic building.
Rainbow Forest Museum provides exhibits of petrified wood, fossils, and displays of prehistoric animals as well as information, book sales, and restrooms. Timeless Impressions, a free orientation film about the park, is shown continuously throughout the day.
An easy 0.4 mi paved trail behind the Rainbow Forest Museum that passes by numerous petrified logs, including the park's largest, nicknamed Old Faithful.
An easy 0.6 mi loop trail that is 0.5 mi from the Rainbow Forest Museum. This trail passes through the park's largest concentration of petrified wood.
Accessible via a 0.5 mi spur (one-way) off of the Long Logs Trail, this trail leads to a rebuilt pueblo that was constructed out of petrified wood.
A few miles north of the Rainbow Forest area, the Crystal Forest is accessible via an 0.8 mi paved loop trail that winds among some particularly colorful petrified logs.
A roadside turnout overlooks hundreds of logs that have been deposited amongst badlands through the erosion of the surrounding rocky bluffs.
This bridge was created as softer rocks eroded around a large petrified log, leaving a lengthy bridge between bluffs. The early park service built several stone supports to keep the bridge from collapsing, greatly diminishing the beauty of this natural wonder.
A 1 mi loop trail leads into the Blue Mesa area, one of the most colorful landscapes of the park. Minerals in the soil have stained the surrounding bluffs with exquisite colors, while petrified logs have been deposited throughout the area as the bluffs have eroded.
A roadside overlook leads to an area in which hundreds of petroglyphs have been etched into the rock.
A short trail leads around an 800-year-old pueblo that once contained 100 rooms and housed as many as 1200 people.
The Painted Desert Inn is a historic building list on the National Register of Historic Places that offers tremendous views and murals by noted Hopi artist Fred Kabotie. The end point of the one mile rim trail is here.
Another painted desert overlook, and the starting point of the Rim Trail.
By plane
Flagstaff Pulliam Airport has commuter service to Phoenix on American Airlines.
By train
The nearest city with an Amtrak station is Gallup, New Mexico, about 1 hour east of the park on Interstate 40. It is served by the Southwest Chief Chicago - Los Angeles route.
By car
A car is the easiest way of getting around in the park, with the 28 mile (45 km) park road allowing visitors to travel through the park from end to end without backtracking.
By bicycle
Bicycles are permitted only on the established paved roadway and cannot be used on paved or dirt trails or off road at any time.
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