Many of our national parks require some time to appreciate, some more than others. Petrified Forest National Park is one of those that requires a bit of effort to love… but once you’ve had that right moment here… you’ll never have enough time in this park…
Guide to Petrified Forest
Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park and the surrounding Painted Desert display a restless array of quiet chaos in which stones take on strange, yet familiar shapes. They mimic giant life forms which lie geographically isolated from where the physical laws of our world dictate they should lie.
An early adoptee in the national park effort of preservation, Petrified Forest was named a national monument by our man TR in 1906 and became a national park in 1962. This park is another testament to the efforts of John Muir, who in this case, wanted to protect the fossilized remains of an ancient forest that enjoyed life some 225 million years ago…
Yep, these are 225 million year old trees!
Where is Petrified Forest?
Petrified Forest National Park is found in eastern Arizona, in an area commonly referred to as the Painted Desert. The park enjoys a place in the nation’s road trip lore, because the historic Highway 66 runs directly through the park’s northern section.
This famous roadway was an early highway to the west and ran from Chicago to Los Angeles. Petrified Forest is the only national park to contain a section of the highway. Today the park is dissected by Interstate 40, and an exit leads directly to the northern entrance to the park.
Exploring Petrified Forest
There is only main road in the park, running to the south from the park entrance at the north. This 28-mile drive leads past the most impressive examples of petrified logs and offers numerous pullouts and short trails that lead to points of interest.
Visitors have the option of stopping at either of the park’s visitor centers, the Painted Desert Visitor Center at the north entrance, and the Rainbow Forest Museum near the southern entrance. Rangers at these locations can answer questions and issue permits for backcountry use.
The views begin immediately upon departure from the northern visitor center, as the Painted Desert stretches to the north. Southward bound visitors pass a number of inspiring viewpoints in the first 3 miles, including Tawa, Kachina and Chinde Points as well as a few others. You really won’t find a vista that isn’t worth the stop, as many of these provide bird’s eye views into an area called the Black Forest, and sweeping views of the north.
Puerco Pueblo
Moving southward brings visitors to the ruins of a village on the Rio Puerco. Scientists tell us that this site was home to perhaps 200 ancestral Puebloan people until the late 1300s, when it is believed climate change led them to abandon the river and move to a new region.
The ruin is accessed by a short, mostly paved trail that leads through the remain of a large pueblo site that once contained more than 100 rooms.
This site also contains a few petroglyphs, one of particular interest to those who observe the summer and winter solstice. A solar marker can be observed here that marks the summer solstice, and the passage of sunlight creates a sort of ancient calendar here during the weeks surrounding June 21.
Newspaper Rock
Fans of petroglyphs will not want to miss Newspaper Rock. This site presents a massive collection of petroglyphs, with more than 650 different pieces of rock art on display in small area.
These ancient communications are the work of the ancestral Pueblo’s who farmed, hunted and lived on the banks of the Rio Puerco between 650 and 2,000 years ago.
The site is largely inaccessible, but views of the rock art can be attained thanks to spotting scopes that allow a closer view from an overlook.
Blue Mesa
The Blue Mesa Trail meanders through a small area of blue-colored badlands and reaches the valley floor. The terrain’s blue color is due to the presence of bentonite clay, which is present in formations throughout the park.
The 1-mile loop trail leads to the valley floor, which is strewn with large and small pieces of petrified wood, the reddish color of which contrasts nicely with the pale blue of the bentonite. As the area continues to erode thanks to the flow of water and the course of time, the unearthing of more petrified wood continues.
Agate Bridge
Prior to 1911, this place was much cooler. Now it may be considered somewhat of a let down, as the agate bridge has been reenforced with a cement bridge which runs under it.
Back in the day, someone must have feared the log would collapse, which it likely would at some point. In order to prevent that, they decided to ruin the view, and support it with a series of pillars, which soon became an ungodly cement bridge, which effectively ruins the appearance of the log.
Jasper Forest
This short 2.5 mile trail leads into an area strewn with petrified wood fragments of all shapes and sizes. The trail follows an old road that was constructed in the 1930s, when the area was known as the First Forest, because it offered travelers coming via wagon from the Adamana train station their first access to the park’s petrified wood.
Crystal Forest
This trail may provide the best views of the petrified logs that give the park its name. A .75-mile paved trail leads through the remains of an ancient forest. Many logs lay broken into pieces that appear as if some ancient woodsman to the ol’ Stihl to them. Alas, these logs were in fact, not bucked by an ancient woodsman… just time. 225 million years of it.
Long Logs
This is another large collection of really cool logs and sections of petrified wood. A 1.5 mile loop leads through a fabulous section of the ancient forest, which is laid out at the base of the grey badlands that rise to the east.
Giant Logs
Located at the Rainbow Forest Museum, this short .5 mile interpretive trail provides access to some of the largest logs in the forest. The biggest in this collection is Old Faithful, ,which is nearly ten feet in diameter at the trunk’s base. The colors visible in the kaleidoscope of the petrified sections of logs scattered along the trail are brilliant.
Playtime
Petrified Forest does not offer much in the way of activities aside from hiking, and trails in the park are somewhat limited. Here guests find a meager 10 miles or so of short, easy trails offering access to front-country sites such as Blue Mesa, Long Logs and the Agate House, as well as the Giant Logs trail from the Rainbow Forest Museum, near the south entrance.
There are a number of pull-outs along the park highway from which casual visitors can find vistas that provide stunning views of many of the park’s more famous features.
For a true introduction to the beauty of Petrified Forest and the encompassed Painted Desert, one should head into the backcountry on a cross-country exploration. An unbelievable world awaits beyond what one can see from the 28-mile scenic drive which runs north to south through the center of the park.
Take plenty of water, as none is to be found out there in the wild. Take a map and compass, know how to use it. Find your way over a random distant ridge and wander out into the unknown… you’ll love it.
In order to really get the most out a visit to this bizarre place, a backcountry permit for an overnight stay out in the desert is needed. Stop by one of the two visitor centers -one at each entrance- and grab a free permit. This allows visitors to park at one of the designated backcountry lots along the park road.
From these points the would-be backpacker must hike at least one mile from the road and place his or her campsite in a spot that is not visible to passing motorists. I suggest heading over a ridge and making your way out to one of the innumerable expansive views offered by the badland-like mesas that lie within striking distance of the road. Enjoy.
Services in Petrified Forest
There are no campgrounds in the park and no lodging facilities. Overnight parking without a backcountry permit is strictly prohibited and motorists must be headed toward the gates before sunset.
The only camping near the park, aside from with the aforementioned backcountry permit, is at the south entrance to the park. Here campers are welcomed at the Petrified Forest Gift Shop on the east side of the highway, literally a stone’s throw from the park’s south entrance. Stop and buy something while here and make sure to thank these folks for the free camping… This is rare and cool…
Painted Desert Inn
The northern section of the park holds the historic Painted Desert Inn, once a stop on Route 66. Neither the inn nor the highway enjoys use today, although the inn does provide a snack bar and a info center, and can make a nice picture from certain angles at the right time. From here, views into the northern section of the park are easily obtained, and for those who desire a more up close view of the painted desert, access to foot travel into the area is possible.
Hours
The park is open daily, year-round, however in an effort to prevent bums from stealing artifacts from the park, the gates are closed daily at dusk and are opened at dawn. The bums will always lose…
Park Junkie Verdict
Without a trip into the backcountry here, it is unlikely that one will fall in love with this park. It was not till my third visit, and my first overnight backpacking trip in the park that I felt the true call of Petrified Forest.
Once you witness sunset from a quiet perch above the surrounding spectacle of the painted desert with its incredibly complex arrangement of stone and color, you’ll be back. I’m stopping by for sure on my next trip through this part of Arizona, & I’m gonna stay for a while…
See ya there…
Guide to Petrified Forest
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