Petrified Forest National Park
Official park boundary · National Park Service
A landscape where deep time lies fully on display, Petrified Forest National Park blends colorful badlands, vast grasslands, and one of the world’s largest and most vivid collections of petrified wood. Spanning more than 200 million years of geologic history, the park protects ancient fossils, ancestral Puebloan sites, habitat for desert animals, and a sweeping stretch of historic Route 66.
Petrified Forest National Park is a national park of the United States in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about 346 square miles, encompassing semi-desert shrub steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful badlands. The park's headquarters is about 26 miles (42 km) east of Holbrook along Interstate 40 (I-40), which parallels the BNSF Railway's Southern Transcon, the Puerco River, and historic U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park roughly east–west. The site, the northern part of which extends into the Painted Desert, was declared a national monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962. The park received 644,922 recreational visitors in 2018.
Petrified Forest stretches north/south between I-40 and Hwy 180. There are two entrances into the park.*** ***WESTBOUND I-40***Travelers should take Exit 311, drive 28 miles through the park to Hwy 180 at the south end. Travel 19 miles to return to I-40 via Holbrook.*** ***EASTBOUND I-40***Travelers should take Exit 285 into Holbrook then travel 19 miles on Hwy 180 to the park's south entrance. Drive 28 miles north through the park to return to I-40.
Petrified Forest National Park is a semi-arid grassland. Temperatures range from above 100° F (38° C) to well below freezing. About 10 inches (25.4 cm) of moisture comes during infrequent snow in the winter and often dramatic summer thunder-storms. Animals and plants are adapted to extremes in temperature and moisture. You should be ready too. Check out the forecast before you arrive and plan accordingly.
Source: National Park Service
Admits one private, non-commercial vehicle (15-passenger capacity or less) and all occupants. Valid for 7 days.
Admits one individual with no motor vehicle (bicyclist, hiker, pedestrian). Youth 15 and under are admitted free of charge. Valid for 7 days.
Valid for 7 days. Admits up to 2 private, non-commercial motorcycles with up to 4 total passengers.
$25 flat fee + $10 per person (Sedans, SUVs, Minivans) If you are conducting an income generating tour of the park, you are subject to commercial tour fees.
Per the National Park Service, as of 2026-08-04
- Peek into the Paleo Lab
Visit the Museum Demonstration Lab at the Painted Desert Visitor Center Complex where you can ask questions and watch them work on fossils from the park.
- Go Bicycling
Bicycle—including ebikes—use is permitted on paved park roads and parking areas open to the public as well as some areas listed in the main text. Be careful along park roads—everyone is looking at the view!
- Collect Your Cancellation Stamps
Collect your cancellation stamp!
- Walk Long Logs Trail
Explore this ancient log jam at the base of purple and gray badlands along a paved half-mile loop.
- Walk the Tawa Trail
Enjoy the tranquility of the grassland as the paved trail leads you to scenic Tawa Point. The 1.2-mile one way Tawa Trail is a perfect place to stretch your legs after a long road trip.
- Enjoy Horseback Riding
Bring your own horse and take a ride into the backcountry.
- Walk the Painted Desert Rim Trail
This unpaved trail winds 1-mile round trip through the rim woodland, a place for chance encounters of many species of plants and animals and spectacular views of the Painted Desert.
- Walk Puerco Pueblo Trail
The 3/4 -mile paved Puerco Pueblo Trail features the remnants of a hundred room masonry pueblo.
Source: National Park Service
- Painted Desert Inn
- Painted Desert Visitor Center
- Rainbow Forest Museum
Drive Petrified Forest with Byway
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