Petrified Forest National Park
The Late Triassic period may have occurred 225 million years ago, but it comes to life again at Petrified Forest National Park.
Plan Around Petrified Forest National Park
A good stop is not just something to read about. Once it belongs on the day, move into a saved trip and build the route around it.
Use this detail page to confirm that the stop is worth it, then carry that decision into a trip draft while the park context is still fresh.
Petrified Forest National Park Details
The Late Triassic period may have occurred 225 million years ago, but it comes to life again at Petrified Forest National Park. In addition to its trove of petrified wood, this park in northeastern Arizona also contains fossilized ferns, cycads, ginkgoes, giant reptiles and amphibians, as well as early dinosaurs. The 146-square-mile park includes portions of the Painted Desert but is hardly barren: current inhabitants include pronghorn sheep, coyotes, bobcats, snakes, lizards, and more. A 28-mile scenic drive winds through the park, offering multiple opportunities to see the namesake petrified logs, monuments to 200-foot-tall conifers buried by preservative mud, sand and volcanic ash long ago. Visitors also can experience the vividly colored rock layers of the Chinle Formation that give the Painted Desert its name, visit the historic Painted Desert Inn (now a museum), hike to a pueblo site rich with petroglyphs, and even see a house built by Puebloean people out of petrified wood.
Difficulty
Open
Distance
N/A
Estimated time
N/A
Region
N/A
Nearby Parks Around Petrified Forest National Park
Compare nearby parks around Petrified Forest National Park when deciding whether to expand the route after this stop.
Nearby Points of Interest Around Petrified Forest National Park
Use nearby POIs to quickly expand your options beyond Petrified Forest National Park while the map context is still fresh.
0.0 mi away
Petrified Forest National Park
The Late Triassic period may have occurred 225 million years ago, but it comes to life again at Petrified Forest National Park.
0.0 mi away
Painted Desert Visitor Center
Just off Interstate 40 is the Painted Desert Visitor Center, in the north unit of the park.
0.0 mi away
Painted Desert Community Complex
The Painted Desert Community Complex encompasses 23 buildings, sites and structures that make up a self-contained desert community.
0.1 mi away
North Entrance Station
The North Entrance Station for Petrified Forest National Park is just north of Interstate 40 near the park's main visitor center.
0.3 mi away
Petrified Forest Road
Petrified Forest Road, the main park road, runs north-south for 28 miles from end to end.
