Petrified Forest National Park Travel Guide: Best Stops, Painted Desert & Route 66
When we heard the name Petrified Forest National Park, we pictured a forest. You know. Trees.
We arrived and looked around at this wide-open Arizona landscape and wondered:
Where’s the forest?
Then we started exploring.
That’s when we discovered that Petrified Forest National Park isn’t simply about petrified logs scattered across the desert. It’s an incredible combination of geology, colorful badlands, ancient history, petroglyphs, Ancestral Pueblo sites, Historic Route 66 and the Painted Desert.
By the end of our visit, this had become one of those national parks that surprised us with just how much there was to see.
Here’s what we discovered while exploring Petrified Forest National Park.
Why Visit Petrified Forest National Park?
Petrified Forest is near Holbrook in northeastern Arizona.
We arrived after traveling from Williams, leaving the mountains of northern Arizona behind and returning to the wide-open desert plains.
Our campsite was conveniently located right beside the entrance to the park, which gave us plenty of opportunity to go in, explore for a while, return to camp and head back into the park again later.
That worked beautifully because there was far more here than we’d expected.
The park combines several completely different experiences.
You can see enormous pieces of petrified wood.
Drive through colorful badlands.
Walk among ancient archaeological sites.
See hundreds of petroglyphs.
Follow the path of Historic Route 66.
And look across the enormous Painted Desert.
This wasn’t just a petrified forest.
It was a history, geology and Route 66 road trip all rolled into one.
How Did the Petrified Forest Form?
One of our favorite parts of the visit was learning how petrified wood formed.
Millions of years ago, this landscape looked very different.
Trees fell and were buried by sediment. Mineral-rich water moved through the buried wood over immense periods of time.
As the original organic material disappeared, minerals filled the spaces within the wood.
Eventually, what remained preserved the shape and structure of the original tree—but in stone.
That’s why these pieces can look so remarkably like logs.
You can still see shapes that resemble bark and wood grain.
Then you look closer and discover beautiful mineral colors and crystals inside.
The educational displays near the visitor center helped us understand what we were actually looking at, which made exploring the rest of the park much more interesting.
Why Is Petrified Wood So Colorful?
One of the fascinating things about the petrified wood is its range of colors.
Different minerals contribute different colors to the stone.
Some pieces are subtle.
Others contain brilliant reds, yellows, purples and other shades.
We saw displays explaining the relationship between the minerals and the colors they created.
Once we’d learned what caused those colors, walking among the petrified logs became something of a treasure hunt.
No two looked exactly alike.
Crystal Forest
One of our favorite areas was Crystal Forest.
During our visit, there was a roughly three-quarter-mile paved loop trail through the area.
This was a wonderful place to get out of the vehicle and see petrified wood up close.
There were pieces scattered throughout the landscape in different sizes and colors.
The surrounding terrain added another dimension.
We kept comparing parts of Petrified Forest to the Badlands we’d visited earlier in our travels.
The scale was smaller, but some of the layered formations and colors reminded us strongly of South Dakota.
Except here, some of the hills had purple and bluish tones.
It was beautiful.
Jasper Forest
Our next stop was Jasper Forest.
This area contained an enormous concentration of petrified wood.
We learned during our visit that it had once been called First Forest because it was one of the early petrified-wood areas accessible to railroad travelers.
Looking across the landscape helps you understand why the word forest is still appropriate.
The standing trees are long gone.
Their stone remains are everywhere.
Blue Mesa
Then we reached Blue Mesa.
This was another area that reminded us of the Badlands.
But the colors were different.
Layers of blue, purple and gray ran through the hills.
The striped formations made this one of the most distinctive landscapes we saw in the park.
Petrified Forest isn’t simply brown desert with old logs lying around.
The geology itself is part of the attraction.
Blue Mesa made that abundantly clear.
Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs
Petrified Forest also preserves a tremendous amount of human history.
At Newspaper Rock, we learned that hundreds of petroglyphs are concentrated within a relatively small area.
Suddenly our geological road trip had become an archaeological one too.
That’s one of the things we enjoyed most about this park.
Just when we thought we understood what Petrified Forest was about, another stop introduced something completely different.
Puerco Pueblo
Our next archaeological stop was Puerco Pueblo.
During our visit, we learned about the Ancestral Pueblo people who had lived here centuries ago.
The site once contained a large pueblo with many rooms and a substantial community.
There were also petroglyphs in the area.
Seeing these places added an entirely different layer to the landscape.
People weren’t simply passing through this desert.
They lived here.
They built homes here.
They created communities here.
And they left pieces of their story behind.
Agate House
One of the most fascinating places we visited was Agate House.
We took about a one-mile hike from the southern area of the park to reach it.
And this was something we’d never seen before.
Agate House was constructed using pieces of petrified wood and mud mortar.
Think about that for a moment.
The landscape provided ancient stone logs, and people used pieces of those logs as building material.
During our visit, we learned that Agate House was a single-family dwelling dating back centuries.
We also learned that access to the main room would originally have been through the roof, using a ladder.
Standing there and seeing a structure actually built from petrified wood connected the natural and human history of the park in a way we hadn’t expected.
Historic Route 66 Through Petrified Forest
Then Petrified Forest gave us another surprise.
Route 66 used to cross the park.
North of Interstate 40, we reached an area showing the former route.
The roadway itself is gone, but during our visit, old telephone poles still marked the line where Route 66 once passed through the landscape.
With modern Interstate 40 visible in the distance, it created a fascinating contrast.
You could essentially look across different generations of American travel.
The old Route 66 corridor.
The modern interstate.
And us, traveling across Arizona in our RV and exploring both.
For Route 66 fans, this is definitely a part of Petrified Forest worth seeing.
Exploring the Painted Desert
North of Interstate 40, the landscape becomes the Painted Desert.
And the name fits.
This part of the park gave us sweeping views across colorful desert formations filled with reds and other shades.
After spending so much time looking closely at individual pieces of petrified wood, the Painted Desert opened the landscape back up.
Now we were looking for miles.
Lacey Point
Lacey Point gave us a beautiful view across the Painted Desert.
The different shades of red running through the landscape were incredible.
This was the kind of place where we wanted to stop rather than simply drive past, because the layers and colors became more apparent the longer we looked.
Pintado Point
At Pintado Point, we had another expansive view across the colorful landscape.
Each overlook offered a slightly different perspective.
That’s why we enjoyed taking our time with the drive.
Yes, you can travel from one end of the park to the other.
But the real experience comes from stopping.
Painted Desert Inn and More Scenic Overlooks
We also stopped around the Painted Desert Inn area and continued visiting overlooks along the northern portion of the park.
Tawa Point gave us another beautiful Painted Desert view.
By this point, Petrified Forest had thoroughly destroyed our original assumption that we’d simply be driving around looking at stone logs.
The petrified wood was only one part of the experience.
Driving Through Petrified Forest National Park
One thing that makes this park especially interesting for road trippers is its layout.
The park’s main road runs north to south, connecting the different areas.
That means you can experience Petrified Forest largely as a scenic driving tour, stopping along the way for overlooks, archaeological sites and walks.
During our visit, we noticed some RV parking available at various stops, although space was limited.
That makes the park particularly interesting for travelers who want to incorporate it into a longer Arizona or Route 66 journey.
If you’re traveling with a large RV, check current National Park Service information about parking, road restrictions and access before entering.
Petrified Forest Was Very Dog Friendly During Our Visit
This was another big plus for us.
We travel with General.
And where we go, General generally goes.
During our visit, we found Petrified Forest to be unusually accommodating for visitors traveling with dogs.
That made exploring much easier for us than at national parks where pets are limited to only a few developed areas.
Pet policies can change, so always check current National Park Service rules before visiting with a dog.
And naturally, desert temperatures and exposed surfaces need to be considered before taking any animal out on a trail.
But for us, the pet-friendly nature of the park was a wonderful surprise.
A Route 66 Stop in Winslow, Arizona
Our Petrified Forest adventure actually started before we reached the park.
Traveling from Williams toward Holbrook took us near Winslow, Arizona.
We couldn’t simply drive past.
We had to go downtown and see the famous street corner.
We also loved seeing the enormous Route 66 emblem painted right in the intersection.
This whole stretch of Arizona is full of Route 66 history, so Petrified Forest fit perfectly into the journey.
Visiting the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook
Then there was Holbrook.
While we were in town getting water for the trailer, we decided to visit one of its most famous Route 66 attractions:
The Wigwam Motel.
This place was fantastic.
The rooms are shaped like individual wigwams, and antique cars around the property add to the vintage Route 66 atmosphere.
We happened to arrive while housekeeping was cleaning one of the rooms and got a chance to peek inside.
Between the unusual rooms and old cars, this was one of those quirky Route 66 stops we were very glad we didn’t skip.
If you’re already visiting Petrified Forest, Holbrook deserves some time too.
Our Campsite Couldn’t Have Been More Convenient
We were camped right near the entrance gate to Petrified Forest.
That turned out to be incredibly convenient.
Instead of feeling like we had to see the entire park in one marathon day, we could explore, head back to our little home for lunch and then return to the park.
We’ll cover that campsite separately in our campground review.
This is another reason we love finding inexpensive or free base camps close to the places we want to explore.
It gives us time.
Don’t Skip the Gift Shop Near the Park
Near our campsite was a gift shop owned by the same people who owned the property where we were staying.
We went inside expecting a typical gift shop.
Instead, we found something that felt partly like a little museum.
There was information about petrified wood, items for sale and displays related to the Navajo people of the surrounding area.
It made an interesting final stop after everything we’d learned inside the park.
Our Favorite Stops at Petrified Forest National Park
We covered a lot during our visit, but several experiences particularly stood out:
- Learning how petrified wood formed
- Walking through Crystal Forest
- Seeing the concentration of petrified wood at Jasper Forest
- Exploring the colorful formations of Blue Mesa
- Seeing the Newspaper Rock petroglyphs
- Visiting Puerco Pueblo
- Hiking to Agate House
- Following the old Route 66 corridor
- Driving through the Painted Desert
- Stopping at the scenic overlooks
- Visiting the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook
- Being able to explore with General
It was an amazing combination of natural and human history.
Tips for Visiting Petrified Forest National Park
Give yourself more time than you think you’ll need.
We initially thought of Petrified Forest primarily as a place to see petrified wood.
It was much more than that.
Plan to get out of the vehicle.
The scenic drive is wonderful, but places like Crystal Forest, the archaeological areas and Agate House deserve time on foot.
If you’re traveling in an RV, check current parking information before your visit.
If you’re bringing a dog, verify current pet rules and prepare for desert conditions.
And don’t ignore the Route 66 attractions outside the park.
Holbrook, the Wigwam Motel and nearby Route 66 history fit beautifully into a Petrified Forest road trip.
Most importantly, check current National Park Service information for hours, entrance procedures, road conditions, trail closures and other visitor information before your trip.
Is Petrified Forest National Park Worth Visiting?
Absolutely.
This park wasn’t what we expected.
It was better.
We arrived wondering where the forest was.
We left having explored petrified trees, colorful badlands, the Painted Desert, ancient homes, petroglyphs and Historic Route 66.
We learned how a forest that existed millions of years ago could eventually become a landscape filled with stone logs in the Arizona desert.
And then we saw how people who lived here centuries ago actually used those pieces of petrified wood to build their homes.
That’s what made Petrified Forest so memorable.
It wasn’t simply beautiful.
It told one story after another.
Geology.
Human history.
Route 66.
American road travel.
All layered together across one remarkable piece of Arizona.
And we’ll see you down the road…and Over the Hills!
Continue the Journey
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