24 Hours in Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park is a place where you can travel through time and literally see layers of earth’s geological and human history. The petrified wood of the park’s namesake are actually fossils from the Triassic Period—225 million years ago. Traces of human habitation here can be dated back over 13,000 years. And within the last hundred years there’s a rich history of our modern society’s interest in the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.
Before I get into the details of the park, I have a bit of explaining to do. I’m usually the last person to tout a 24-hour itinerary. I extol the value of slow travel. Of really getting to know an area—not just breeze through the most popular landmarks, snap a few pictures and move along. Yet here I am talking about a mere day in Petrified Forest National Park. Well, there are a few reasons for our brief visit to this historic place.
Realistically, most travel comes with a firm end date and time is often at a premium. We’re lucky to usually be able to take it slow, but we faced a time crunch in Petrified Forest. Arriving about 48 hours ahead of a snow storm, we wanted to avoid it by getting off the Colorado Plateau before the flakes started flying.
It turns out that you really can see a good deal of Petrified Forest in a day or two. With Old Route 66 running directly through the park, this land has a history of being a place where people stopped briefly on their way to somewhere else. We spent two half days in Petrified Forest, but if your time is really limited you could fit everything into one day. Just start early when the park opens. Of course, if you have more time, you can always stay longer and explore every nook and cranny. We have recommendations for that at the end of the post.
What to do in a day (or two) at Petrified Forest National Park
The park has two sections—the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. They’re next to each other so it’s not super clear where one ends and the other begins, but eventually the bands of colorful desert give way to large concentrations of petrified wood. The most southern area of the park is called the Rainbow Forest—magical right?
I’ve split up the activities below by the two areas of the park. These things to do in Petrified Forest National Park are ordered from north to south because that’s how we traveled through the park the first time, but you could go in either direction. If you have two days, you can split up the list and drive through the park in both directions (which is what we did).
Morning in the Painted Desert of Arizona
Painted Desert Visitor Center
Our first stop when we get to a new national park is always the visitor center. We pick up a map and ask the rangers about their favorite hikes and places. The Painted Desert Visitor Center has a movie about the area, gift shop, and very friendly rangers.
Painted Desert Inn
The Painted Desert Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks and while it no longer offers lodging, today it serves as a museum. This is one of the first places in Petrified Forest National Park to learn about the recent (comparatively) history of this area.
The Points
There are over half a dozen overlooks called “points” on the map. Stop at any or all of them to take in sweeping views of the surrounding vibrant desert.
Route 66
Petrified Forest is the only national park that has a section of Old Route 66 running right through it. This stop gives you a glimpse into some of the more recent history here.
Parco Pueblo
Time to start traveling back further in time. Along this .3-mile loop trail you’ll find ancient rock carvings (aka petroglyphs) and the ruins of a hundred room pueblo that was left by the ancestral Puebloan people who lived here over 600 years ago.
Newspaper Rock
This is another place to see petroglyphs left by the former inhabitants of Petrified Forest National Park. Newspaper Rock was a place where many generations left a mark. It has over 650 different petroglyphs. You can use viewfinders at the overlook here to see the various markings.
Blue Mesa
This is one of our favorite areas of the park. A 1-mile loop trail travels through this aptly named place. It’s amazing how the colors, shadows, and light shift once you descend the steep entrance into Blue Mesa. Here you’ll start to see petrified wood and can get a close-up view of the different bands of sediment laid down millions of years ago to form the painted desert.
Afternoon in the Petrified Forest
Crystal Forest
A high concentration of vibrant petrified wood is found along this .75-mile loop trail. It was cloudy the day we hiked it, but when the sun is shining, many of the petrified logs here sparkle and glisten.
Rainbow Forest Visitor Center
At this visitor center you’ll learn about the gnarly pre-historic creatures that lived here during the Triassic period. There’s also one of the best explanations of earth’s timeline that I’ve seen. Basically, if you put the 4.6-billion-years of Earth’s history into just one modern day calendar year: the first microscopic life forms appeared in July, the Late Triassic period rocks of Petrified Forest occurred in mid-December, and humans arrived on the scene at 11:15pm on December 31. Kind of puts things in perspective, huh?
The Rainbow Forest Visitor Center is also the starting point for the rest of the trails on this itinerary.
Giant Logs Trail
Get your poop jokes ready! This short .4-mile trail is right behind the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center and you can probably guess what this little hike is known for. No, not petrified poop—although I’ve heard that fossilized dinosaur turds are thing. Anywho, this trail has some of the largest petrified wood in the entire park. It can get crowded, but we went first thing in the morning on a November day and were the only ones here.
Agate House & Long Logs Trail
These two trails combined make for an approximately 2.5-mile trek. The Long Logs trail really did have some crazy long logs—offering endless opportunities for more poop jokes. Okay enough about poo…for now anyway.
Partially reconstructed by the CCC in the 1930s, Agate House is a prime example of petrified wood being used as building materials by ancient civilizations. It was part of a larger community of homes in this area, and only believed to have been occupied for a short time 700 years ago.
Get “Off the Beaten Path” in Petrified Forest National Park
If you have an extra day in the park, take one (or more) of the “Off the Beaten Path” routes. Just ask a ranger at the visitor centers about these trails and they’ll give you a guide with numerous options for longer hikes that really get you into the heart of the landscape at Petrified Forest.
What You Need to Know About Visiting Petrified Forest National Park
The park has specific hours – Park gates are opened and closed each day. Make sure to get an early start and watch the time so that you don’t get stuck inside the park after they close the gates.
There are no campgrounds or lodges in the park – There are campgrounds and hotels in nearby towns. See our recommendations below for where to stay at Petrified Forest National Park.
Make sure your vehicle is road trip ready – Here’s a comprehensive road trip checklist that will ensure you’re as prepared as possible for your adventure. Have I mentioned that Tom’s a former boy scout?
Don’t take anything from the park—especially not petrified wood! – Removing any natural or cultural elements from the park will not only bring you bad karma, it’s illegal! If you want a souvenir, petrified wood is available for purchase from the national park gift shop or various others in the area. You can find out more about how to be a good national park visitor here.
Where to Stay in Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park Camping
The Park: I’ve already mentioned that there aren’t any campgrounds or operating lodges in the park. The only way to stay overnight in Petrified Forest is to backcountry camp at least one mile away from parking spots. Permits for this are free and can be obtained at the visitor centers.
Campgrounds: We stayed at the KOA in Holbrook —30 minutes away from the southern entrance. We usually opt for free camping whenever possible, but once a week or so we splurge for a campground with showers. This was a pretty par for the course KOA right in town with a play area/basketball court, WiFi, showers, RV hook-ups, and laundry facilities.
Petrified Forest National Park Lodging
Hotels: If hotels are more your style, there are plenty of those in Holbrook too. This one in particular has a great rating, indoor pool, and includes breakfast.
Regardless of whether you stay for an hour, a day, or more, the Petrified Forest of Arizona is a fascinating place with unique history. Hopefully you’ll stop here if you’re passing through.
Have you ever seen a petrified forest? Where was it? And what was your experience like? Let us know in the comments below.
