Old Faithful in Petrified Forest National Park

Old Faithful

Old Faithful is possibly the most famous petrified log in the world.

Plan Around Old Faithful

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.

Add to tripView park guide

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.

Old Faithful Details

Old Faithful is possibly the most famous petrified log in the world. A 35-foot-long piece of petrified wood, it sits alongside the Giant Logs Trail at Petrified Forest National Park and has been seen by millions of visitors. The name is from the first superintendent's wife, who wrote that the large log is to Petrified Forest what Old Faithful Geyser is to Yellowstone. The name stuck. One famous visitor to Old Faithful was Albert Einstein and his wife who visited on March 1, 1931. Present visitors can stand in the same spot today. Old Faithful is at stop 8 of the interpretive trail; the log is about 10 feet wide at its base and weighs about 44 tons. This is the largest chunk of petrified wood in the park.

Difficulty

Low

Distance

N/A

Estimated time

N/A

Region

N/A

Nearby Parks Around Old Faithful

Compare nearby parks around Old Faithful when deciding whether to expand the route after this stop.

17.9 mi away

Petrified Forest

National Park · AZ

152.7 mi away

Grand Canyon

National Park · AZ

188.8 mi away

Saguaro

National Park · AZ

192.2 mi away

Mesa Verde

National Park · CO

233.6 mi away

Bryce Canyon

National Park · UT

239.9 mi away

Zion

National Park · UT

Nearby Points of Interest Around Old Faithful

Use nearby POIs to quickly expand your options beyond Old Faithful while the map context is still fresh.

0.0 mi away

Giant Logs Trail

This .4-mile loop trail begins behind Rainbow Forest Museum, where there's a trail guide available.

0.0 mi away

Giant Logs Trail

This .4-mile loop trail begins behind Rainbow Forest Museum, where there's a trail guide available.

0.1 mi away

Rainbow Forest

Beginning at the southern entrance station and including the Rainbow Forest Museum is the Rainbow Forest area of the park.

0.1 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.

0.1 mi away

Rainbow Forest Museum

Rainbow Forest Museum near the south entrance of the park offers exhibits of petrified wood, fossils and dioramas of prehistoric animals that lived in the park.