Planning an upcoming trip to Petrified Forest National Park? You’re in the right place! We recently visited this spectacular Arizona national park and have organized the highlights of our trip. From driving the Petrified Forest Scenic Drive to hiking the Painted Desert Rim Trail, here are the best things to do in Petrified Forest National Park. Read on to the end for more useful travel info like the best time to visit, where to stay, and more!
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ℹ️ About Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park is located just a 3.5-hour drive northeast of Phoenix, Arizona, and just shy of a 2-hour drive west of Flagstaff. This unique park is most known for its large collection of, you guessed it, petrified wood. It actually has one of the largest concentrations of petrified wood in the world! You can also look forward to seeing ancient fossils, ancestral Puebloan sites, the colorful hills of the Painted Desert, and more!
Gates to the park open at 8:00 am every day and close at 5:00 pm (although there’s a secret way to stay in the park after closing, which we’ll share later). We got to the park at 7:45 am to wait in line before the gates opened, and this is what we recommend if you plan to spend just one day here. You can enter the park via the north or the south entrance.
Once inside the gates, the entire park is connected by a single road running north to south through its spine. One of the great things about the Petrified Forest is that 95% of the things to do are located right off of this relatively short road. This makes the park super compact and easy to navigate, which we loved.
🎫 Consider investing in the America the Beautiful pass for $80 like we did if you’re planning on travelling to several parks within the year.
11 Best Things to Do in Petrified Forest National Park
In rough order of most to least popular, we’ve rounded up the top things to do in Petrified Forest National Park. While the majority of activities are free (upon paying the $25 per vehicle entrance fee), we’ve also included a few paid activities that caught our attention.
💚 Leave the wood behind! We encourage you to refrain from picking up and taking any of the petrified wood, as the park loses an estimated 12 tons of petrified wood per year. You can buy petrified wood in the visitors’ centers or at small shops like the Crystal Forest Museum & Gifts (location pinned on our map of the park).
1. Drive the Petrified Forest Scenic Drive
The most popular thing to do in Petrified Forest National Park is to drive the entire length of its 28.5-mile (46-km) scenic drive. The Petrified Forest Scenic Drive runs from the north to the south end of the park and includes a ton of jaw-dropping viewpoints you can stop at along the way.
If you were to drive without stopping, this road takes just 45 minutes to complete. But with all the overlooks, photo opps, and hiking trails that you pass while driving, you can spend an entire day travelling down it! We’ve outlined all the viewpoints here and all the hikes here.
We also found this free audio tour that you can listen to while driving along the park road. There is one version if you’re driving from the north and another if you’re coming from the south. You can find paid ones on sites like Viator, but we wanted to recommend this free one that people might not know about!
🚴🏼 Prefer biking? Bikes and e-bikes are also permitted in Petrified Forest National Park. You can ride this scenic drive on your bike, as well as a few other paved roads that branch off from it. Find the full cycling map on this NPS biking page.
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2. Stop at Scenic Viewpoints
While travelling down the Petrified Forest Scenic Drive, you’ll pass a plethora of scenic overlooks. We’ve listed them in order from north to south, with some information about each. While all of the viewpoints we loved, some did feel like repeats, so we’ve grouped the similar ones if you want to just pick one.
🗺️ Need a map? You can find all of these viewpoints’ locations pinned on our Map of Petrified Forest National Park.
Mile 0-5
- Tiponi/No Name Points: The first viewpoints when driving the Petrified Scenic Drive from the northern end of the park. You can get amazing views of the painted hills here! No Name Point was just after Tiponi, and we skipped it because the views were so similar to those at Tiponi.
- Tawa/Kachina Points: We visited both of these viewpoints when walking the Painted Desert Rim Trail. If you’re short on time, you could drive up to either of these, skipping the short hike that connects them.
- Hózhó/Pintado Points: We recommend either of these points for beautiful views over the Painted Desert. If you’re looking to watch the sunset or take night photography, we specifically recommend Hózhó Point. If you’re able to score an after-hours pass, that is.
- Nizhoni/Whipple/Lacey Points: We stopped at Nizhoni Point and really enjoyed the views. As this viewpoint is so close to Wipple Point and Lacey Point, there’s no need to visit all of them in our opinion. You can just pick one!
Mile 5-10
The historic Route 66 actually passes right through Petrified Forest National Park, and is the main attraction from miles 5 to 10 of the road. This is how travelers used to reach the park, and it’s also what determined the location of the Painted Desert Inn. We got to see a 1932 Studebaker car as well as the old power lines where Route 66 used to be. It was really cool to imagine what this area was like back in its heyday.
Mile 10-16
- Puerco Pueblo Trail: Jump down to our hiking section to read more about this trail that takes you to an ancient village!
- Newspaper Rock: Here, you can find over 650 petroglyphs covering the rocks in the area, left by the Puebloan people as long as 2,000 years ago! The viewpoint is a short walk from the parking lot and has several binoculars set up that let you get a closer look at the petroglyphs.
- The Tepees: The Tepees are these super cool zebra-striped mountains in the middle of the park. We recommend hiking the Blue Forest or Blue Mesa Trails to experience them! Jump down to our hiking section to read more about them!
- Agate Bridge Viewpoint: At this viewpoint, you can see a tree with a cement block underneath it, added by the Railroad back in the day. This has caused it to still be together, unlike the Onyx Bridge.
Mile 16-End
- Jasper Forest Viewpoint: Although this viewpoint technically is a short trail, it leads you to one of the largest collections of petrified wood in the entire park!
- Crystal Forest Trail: Jump down to our hiking section to read more about this trail!
- Long Logs/Agate House Trail: Jump down to our hiking section to read more about how to see both of these landmarks on one trail!
3. Go Hiking in Petrified Forest National Park
The best way to stretch your legs while driving down the Petrified Forest Scenic Drive is to hit some of the hikes. Lucky for you, there are tons of easy and moderate trails dotting the entire road. Many are even under a mile, making hitting several in one day easy!
Below, we’ve listed 6 of the most popular, with some info about each:
- Blue Mesa Trail: Easy, 1-mile (1.6-km) loop trail with stunning views of the multicolored badlands—this trail is the most-reviewed route on AllTrails in the park! It is 100% paved.
- Crystal Forest Trail: The second-most hiked trail in the park, this easy, 0.8-mile (1.3-km) paved loop trail takes you through the heart of the Petrified Forest. There was a lot of petrified wood we saw on this trail!
- Historic Blue Forest Trail: Our favorite hike in the park! This moderate, 2.7-mile (4.3-km) trail winds through the park’s “Blue Forest” with a bit of rock scrambling on the unpaved portion.
- Painted Desert Rim Trail: Easy, 1.3-mile (2.1-km) trail that takes you along the rim of the Painted Desert from Kachina Point to Tawa Point. There are tons of signs you can read to learn about the park’s history.
- Long Logs & Agate House: The fifth-most popular trail in the park, this is an easy 2.6-mile (4.2-km) loop trail that holds one of the largest concentrations of petrified wood you’ll find in the entire park!
- Puerco Pueblo Trail: This short and easy 0.3 mile loop trail (0.5 km) takes you to the Puerco Pueblo, ruins of an ancient Puebloan village. Halfway down the loop, you’ll also find a human history museum.
🥾 Want to read more about hiking? Read more about all of these trails, among others, over at our related article—The Best Trails in Petrified Forest National Park!
With offline maps, wrong-turn alerts, and extra planning features, make the most of every outside adventure with AllTrails Plus. Get 7 days of AllTrails Plus for free!
4. Stop by the Petrified Forest Visitor Centers
Petrified Forest National Park has three visitor centers—Painted Desert Community Complex, Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark, and the Rainbow Forest Museum. The first two are located right by each other by the northern entrance to the park, whereas the Rainbow Forest Museum serves the southern entrance to the park. Below, we’ve outlined what you can expect from each!
Painted Desert Visitor Center (North Entrance)
The Painted Desert Inn once served as an inn for travellers during the heyday of Route 66. Now, it functions as the northern end of the park’s interim Visitor Center, gallery space, and even an ice cream parlor! We fell in love with the ceilings and architecture of this building.
If you get ice cream, make sure to have cash on you as this is a cash-only spot. Oh, and you can also get your park passport stamped here, so make sure to ask for a stamp if you have one of these!
💡 The Painted Desert Community Complex, located just off I-40 at Exit 311, is the original Visitor Center, but it is closed for construction as of 7/23/25. You can check for updates on this center here.
Rainbow Forest Visitor Center (South Entrance)
The Rainbow Forest Museum & Visitor Center serves the southern entrance to the park. It includes an exhibition space, a gift shop, a shady picnic area, and even the Giant Logs Trail right outside of it. We also highly recommend making some time for the 20-minute park movie, which plays here throughout the day.
5. Go Camping (or Glamping)
Although you can’t camp in the park, there are camping opportunities outside of the park, but nearby. Below, we’ve listed a few options for both RV/Campervans as well as traditional tent camping. They are all pinned on our Map of Petrified Forest National Park.
- Crystal Forest Campground (Southern Entrance): Just outside the southern entrance to the park, the Crystal Forest Gift Shop offers free camping for self-contained vehicles! This is on our list for next time! Be sure to thank them by stopping in for a souvenir.
- Tickled Pink Flamingos: This glamping campground offers an off-grid overnight experience in Holbrook, Arizona, right by the northern entrance to the park! You can rent a vintage camper and stargaze under the Arizona night skies. Reserve your camper here!
- KOA in Holbrook: There’s a KOA right in downtown Holbrook, a 20-minute drive from Petrified Forest National Park. They have RV spots, tent camping, and even indoor lodging!
If you want to look up even more options, we love using iOverlander, a free site to find campgrounds, water refill stations, and more! You can also read and leave reviews as you go. It’s a better alternative to Google Maps if you’re specifically looking for campgrounds, dump stations, or even free roadside camping.
🏨 Interested in other accommodations? Jump down to our Where to Stay section, where we offer other places to stay like inns and hotels.
6. Go Backpacking in the Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area
Another alternative to camping is backpacking, which you can sort of do in the park. The Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area allows you to backpack at least a half-mile from your vehicle and spend the night there. Although a permit is needed, it is completely free! You can get it from any of the visitor centers on the same day that you plan on backpacking, just make sure to get there before 4:30 pm, as you need a bit of time to fill everything out.
7. Become a Junior Park Ranger
One of our favorite ways to really understand a national park is to participate in its Junior Ranger Program. All you need to do is fill out the Junior Ranger Activity Booklet, which you can pick up in any one of the park’s Visitor Centers, and return it before the end of your visit. You’ll be sworn in as a junior ranger, and they usually give you a park badge! Although this program was made with younger visitors in mind, there are no age restrictions on it.
🐾 BARK Ranger Program! If you’re visiting with your furry friend, like us, sign them up for the BARK Ranger program at any entrance station or visitor center. By learning how to properly visit the park with your pup, they’ll get a treat, and you can even get them a special park tag!
8. Drop in to a Cultural Demonstration
There is a Cultural Demonstration that takes place daily from the end of February to the end of December between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm at the Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark. Here, you’ll be able to drop in and learn about traditional crafts like beading, basketry, painting, and more from local artisans from the Diné (Navajo), Zuni, and Hopi Tribes, among others. This is high on our list for next time! More information on this NPS page.
9. Go Geocaching in Petrified Forest National Park!
If you’ve never gone geocaching before, it’s basically a worldwide treasure hunt! People leave geocaches, hidden containers with a special item and a logbook, somewhere, and mark the GPS coordinates on the “Geocaching” app! There are several of these containers within the boundaries of Petrified Forest National Park!
To find a cache, download the app, follow the coordinates, and sign the log upon finding the container. Once you’ve signed, return the item exactly where you found it and log your findings on the app! All of these caches have been intentionally placed by the National Park Service, so make sure not to leave any new ones.
🌐 More Information About Geocaching! For more info, head over to the NPS’s Geocaching Page, where they talk about the two types of geocaches you can find in the park (physical and virtual).
10. Sign Up for a Class with the Petrified Forest Field Institute
The Petrified Forest Field Institute is a partner of the park that holds full-day classes in the park led by field experts! Classes include everything from guided hikes and geology walks to fossil digs and nighttime photography sessions. You can find all of their upcoming classes on their Class Page. Class prices seem to range anywhere from $185 to $245 for non-members.
11. Go Stargazing in Petrified Forest National Park
Ask at any Visitor Center if there are any Dark Sky passes available. They give out 2 a day to the first people who ask for them. We got one at the Painted Desert Inn and got to stay in the park as late as we wanted after it closed at 5 pm!
That being said, you can only stay in 3 specific areas after hours, all in the northern end of the park—Painted Desert Inn, Tawa Point, or Hózhó Point. We decided to set up at Hózhó Point Picnic Area. This is a Dark Sky Zone, so the views of the night sky are incredible. We ended up seeing the Milky Way!
🗺️ Map of Petrified Forest National Park
How to use this map: We have saved the locations from this guide on this map. You can save this map to your Google Maps by pressing the star icon. In your Google Maps, click the menu icon and then Saved Maps, where this map will appear.
☀️ Best Time of Year to Visit Petrified Forest
In our opinion, the best time of year for visiting Petrified Forest National Park is during the spring or fall shoulder seasons, when daytime temperatures are comfortable. You’ll find that there are fewer crowds and non-blistering temps—the best of both worlds! Here’s what you can expect from each season:
- Spring & Fall: When we recommend going, Spring and Fall in the Petrified Forest offer comfortable daytime highs in the mid-70s °F (18-24 °C), fewer crowds, and less chance of rain. This would specifically be March to May and October to November.
- Summer: This is the peak season in the park, from May to August. Beyond the higher temperatures (90°F, 32°C and above) and crowds, June 15-September 30 is monsoon season, so keep the possibility of heavy rains in mind if you can only come in the summer months.
- Winter: Winters in the Petrified Forest are mild compared to many other national parks, with daytime highs often in the 50s °F (10-15 °C) and cooler nights. Snow is rare but still possible. The park is much quieter during this season, so if what you’re looking for is solitude, this is still a doable time to visit!
📅 How Many Days in Petrified Forest?
We found that just 1-2 days is enough for the average visitor to explore Petrified Forest National Park. A single day will allow you to drive the entire 28-mile Painted Desert Rim Road, enjoying the main overlooks as well as a few trails. A second day would allow you to travel at a more relaxed pace and hit most, if not all, of the most popular overlooks, historic sites, and short trails.
If you want to extend your trip, Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon National Park are about a 3-hour drive west. You also have Walnut Canyon National Monument and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments, which are a bit closer, roughly 1.5 hours away.
🚗 How to Get to Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park is located in northeastern Arizona, roughly halfway between Flagstaff and Albuquerque. Its location near these major cities makes reaching this park quite straightforward, whether you’re coming in by flight or by car on a road trip.
Here’s a breakdown of your options:
- Car: The park is easily accessible via Interstate 40, with exits leading to the park’s main entrances near Holbrook and Interstate 40’s Exit 285. From Flagstaff, it’s about a 1.5 to 2-hour drive east, and from Albuquerque, roughly 3.5 hours west. Once you’re in the park, having a car is quite useful as well, as no bus can take you down the park road.
- Plane: The closest major airport for flying into Petrified Forest is Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (a 1-hour and 48-minute drive). You also have Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (a 3-hour and 23-minute drive) and Albuquerque Airport (a 3-hour and 26-minute drive). Once you arrive in Arizona, we recommend renting a car to complete your journey to the park.
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🏕️ Where to Stay in Petrified Forest
We recommend staying the night in or around Holbrook, the closest town to Petrified Forest National Park. Below, we’ve broken down a few hotel, camping, and even glamping options to help you decide where to rest for the night!
- Hotels: Brad’s Desert Inn and The Wigwam Motel are two affordable, quirky places to stay just a half hour from the park. There’s also a Quality Inn, 23 minutes from the park, another fairly-priced and reliable option.
- Glamping: We can recommend either the Starlight Luxury Tents or Tickled Pink Flamingos Campers, two unique glamping experiences just 25 minutes away from the park.
- Camping: If you sleep in your vehicle, the Crystal Forest Gift Shop offers free camping by the southern entrance. If you’re looking for something a bit more established, the Holbrook KOA has RV spots, tent camping, and even indoor lodging!
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