The Flattops
Running roughly north-south in the southern portion of the park are a series of buttes called the Flattops.
Plan Around The Flattops
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The Flattops Details
Running roughly north-south in the southern portion of the park are a series of buttes called the Flattops. Here, exposures of the Petrified Forest Member are capped with beds of hard sandstone, which protect the underlying rocks from erosion. The Flattops are characterized by several ribboned sandstones, termed "Flattops Sandstones Two through Four" (from bottom to top). Petrified Forest Road traverses the second Flattops Sandstone Bed, and Flattops Sandstone Four caps the buttes nearby.
Difficulty
Low
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Nearby Parks Around The Flattops
Compare nearby parks around The Flattops when deciding whether to expand the route after this stop.
Nearby Points of Interest Around The Flattops
Use nearby POIs to quickly expand your options beyond The Flattops while the map context is still fresh.
1.0 mi away
Martha's Butte Hike
This one-mile hike takes hikers to a petroglyph site at the base of Martha's Butte.
2.5 mi away
Long Logs Trail
This 1.6-mile loop trail begins at the Rainbow Forest Museum parking area.
2.6 mi away
Jim Camp Wash
The middle Jim Camp Wash beds are made up of of blue, gray, and purple mudstone, and numerous small gray and white sandstone beds.
2.6 mi away
Agate House Trail
This 2-mile roundtrip hike begins at the Rainbow Forest Museum parking area and visits the archeological Agate House structure.
2.7 mi away
Mather Memorial
At the end of a short side trail off the Giant Logs Trail is a memorial to Stephen Mather, first director of the National Park Service.
