Petrified Forest National Park

Summary

🪧

2 open

Entrances

💵

$25

7-day fee

Historic Crowd Data

Avg. monthly visitors, 2015–2024 · National Park Service

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Light Moderate Busy Very Busy

Peak season is June–July, when around 27% of annual visitors arrive. For lighter crowds, aim for November–February.

Plan Your Visit

🪵Fossil Wood Protection & the "Curse"$325 min. fine▾

🪵 Removing petrified wood, rocks, or any natural object from the park is a federal offense — a minimum $325 fine if caught. Since the 1930s, the park has received thousands of "conscience letters" from visitors mailing back stolen wood after years of self-reported bad luck — over 1,200 pages of them are archived at the Rainbow Forest Museum. Buy petrified wood legally from park-adjacent shops instead, sourced from private land outside the park. NPS theft & conscience letters ↗

🪧Park Access & Fees2 open · $25▾

North Entrance Painted Desert VC

Off I-40, near Holbrook

The Painted Desert Visitor Center anchors the north end of the 28-mile scenic road that runs the length of the park.

NPS directions ↗

South Entrance Rainbow Forest Museum

Off Hwy 180, near Crystal Forest

Closest access to the densest petrified wood deposits — Crystal Forest, Jasper Forest, and Long Logs trails.

NPS directions ↗

Entry Fees · 7-day pass

Vehicle$25

Motorcycle$20

Foot / Bike$15

Open 8am–5pm daily, year-round — no camping-related fees, no frontcountry campgrounds

📍Landmarks & Trails6 stops▾

Painted Desert (North)2 stops▾

Painted Desert InnRoadside

1930s CCC-built National Historic Landmark, Kachina Point overlook

Tawa Point & Kachina PointEasy walk

Sweeping badlands overlooks, especially at sunrise/sunset

Historic Route 661 stop▾

Route 66 Alignment & 1932 StudebakerRoadside pull-out

The only national park containing a Route 66 segment — added to the National Register of Historic Places in Feb 2026

Petrified Wood & Petroglyphs (South)3 stops▾

Crystal Forest~0.75 mi loop

Densest, most colorful petrified log concentration

Newspaper RockRoadside

650+ ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs, viewed from overlook

Agate House & Long Logs~2.6 mi loop

Pueblo built from petrified wood blocks

🥾Things to Do5 categories▾

Hiking Trails8 trails▾

Tawa Trail1.2 mi one way · Paved

Paved path linking the Painted Desert Visitor Center to the Painted Desert Inn

Painted Desert Rim Trail1 mi RT · Grade to 25.6%

Unpaved badlands-overlook walk near Tawa & Kachina Points; waterbars and dirt-gravel surface

Puerco Pueblo0.3 mi loop · Paved

Paved loop past a 100-room ancestral Puebloan village site and petroglyphs

Blue Mesa Trail1 mi loop

Alternately paved and gravel path descending into blue-hued bentonite badlands; steep grade at the start

Crystal Forest Trail0.75 mi loop · Grade to 22.5%

Paved loop through the park's densest, most colorful petrified log concentration

Giant Logs Trail0.4 mi loop

Paved trail with stairs behind Rainbow Forest Museum, past some of the park's largest logs

Long Logs Trail1.6 mi loop · Grade to 20.5%

First half-mile paved; loops through one of the world's largest concentrations of petrified wood

Agate House Trail2 mi RT · Grade to 14.7%

First half-mile paved; leads to a reconstructed pueblo built from petrified wood blocks

Backcountry & Wilderness Hiking2 ways▾

Day Hiking Off-TrailFree · No water/shade

Free, no permit needed park-wide; hikers must be back at their vehicle by posted closing time. Devil's Playground is the exception — only 3 permits issued weekly, first-come first-served at Painted Desert VC before noon

Overnight BackpackingFree permit · Same-day only

Allowed only inside the Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area, at least half a mile from any vehicle; free permit issued same-day at either visitor center until 4:30 pm

Other Ways to Explore3 ways▾

Scenic Park Road28 mi

Paved road connecting the Painted Desert and Rainbow Forest entrances, with pull-outs at overlooks and trailheads

BicyclingPark road · No rentals

Road cycling is permitted on the paved park road and a few other routes; no rentals or dedicated bike lanes in the park

Horseback Riding (BYOH)Day free · Overnight permit

No stables or outfitters — bring your own horse. Entry via the Painted Desert Wilderness access trail near Kachina Point, 2 mi north of the visitor center; no maintained trails once inside

Stargazing & Night SkyBortle 2▾

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Petrified Forest is a certified International Dark Sky Park, rated Bortle Class 2 — among the darkest skies of any US national park. Free Dark Sky Viewing Permits let visitors stay past normal closing hours for stargazing; only two are issued per day, first-come, first-served at the visitor center. NPS dark sky permit info ↗

Bird WatchingTop 5 species▾

Golden Eagle

Hunts over the Painted Desert

Prairie Falcon

Nests among the badlands

Horned Lark

Forages the open grassland

Say's Phoebe

Desert flycatcher near the ruins

Common Raven

Year-round resident of the badlands

🍽️Concession Information4 operators▾

Painted Desert Visitor Center (North)2 operators▾

Painted Desert Oasis Gift ShopDaily

Operated by Petrified Forest Trading Company — gifts, legally-sourced petrified wood from private land

Petrified Forest Museum Association BookstoreDaily

Nonprofit NPS partner — books, maps, educational items

Rainbow Forest Museum (South)2 operators▾

Rainbow Forest Lodge Gift ShopDaily

Operated by Petrified Forest Trading Company — same product line as Painted Desert location

Petrified Forest Museum Association BookstoreDaily

Second bookstore location, adjacent to Rainbow Forest Museum

ℹ️ No restaurant or food service currently operates inside the park — pack food and water, or plan to eat in Holbrook (north) or nearby along I-40.

📷Live CamerasExternal link only▾

Petrified Forest's Painted Desert Inn webcam at Kachina Point is a page-embedded viewer rather than a directly embeddable image feed, so it's not included in the grid above. It updates every 10–15 minutes from sunrise to sunset.

View Kachina Point Webcam ↗

Park Contact Information

📞 Phone: (928) 524-6822 · Mailing Address: Petrified Forest National Park, PO Box 2217, Petrified Forest, AZ 86028-2217 · Official NPS contact page ↗