Arizona is famous for its stunning natural landscapes, particularly the Grand Canyon, which is undoubtedly one of the world’s most renowned natural attractions.
The Petrified Forest National Park, on the other hand, may be a lesser-known name to many, but it too is located in Arizona along Route 66, on the eastern side of the state.
The Petrified Forest National Park is known for its vast quantity of petrified trees. These trees were transported to the area by rivers when it was still swampy terrain, after which they became buried in volcanic ash. Over centuries, the wood was replaced by minerals, transforming the trees into stone while preserving the appearance of wood.
The park consists of two main sections: in the north, visitors can admire the multicolored landscape known as the Painted Desert, while the south features several dense concentrations of petrified trees.
We drove through the park from its southern end. The park is traversed by a road where the main attractions are located. Immediately at the park’s edge are a couple of souvenir shops and a museum, where we saw the first petrified trees, which were truly remarkable!
The entrance fee to the national park was $20 per vehicle, with no per-person fees, only a cost per vehicle. At both ends of the route, there are tourist information centers where you can start your visit either from the north or south, and park tickets are sold at both locations. The southern ticket booth is marked on the map here; it’s a small ticket kiosk where you can purchase tickets, so for other services, it’s best to stop at the nearby stores at the intersection. The route is approximately 45 kilometers long.
You can drive through the nature park entirely, and nearly all attractions are visible from the roadside. In practice, you can see a lot just by sitting in the car, but it’s highly recommended to stop and explore. The walking trails are relatively short, allowing for closer exploration of the sites.
Right at the beginning of the route, you’ll encounter the Giant Logs Trail, a short path of a few hundred meters where you’ll find the largest petrified tree trunks.
Along the roadside, there are several rest stops and viewpoints where you can pause to admire the scenery and magnificent petrified trees, along with the uniquely colored landscape—places like Crystal Forest or Jasper Forest are excellent stops. Some of these rest areas have trails of varying lengths that allow for closer exploration of nature.
One trail that we would have definitely wanted to walk after the fact is the Blue Mesa. It’s a roughly 1.5-kilometer loop trail that takes you deeper into beautifully striped-colored cliffs. We missed this somehow, but in retrospect, we saw pictures and would have absolutely loved to walk it. Fortunately, we stopped at a viewpoint and still got to see the scenery.
And if you’re on a Route 66 road trip like us, you’ll be interested to know that there is, of course, a dedicated Route 66 section along the way here! Petrified Forest National Park is the only national park that includes a portion of the historic Route 66.
Petrified Forest National Park is truly a beautiful and unique destination, so it’s worth allocating at least a few hours to half a day to visit here. In any case, it’s not to be missed.
