Petrified Forest National Park

🪵

$325 fine

Wood theft

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2 open

Entrances

💵

$25

7-day fee

📍

6 stops

Landmarks

🌙

Bortle 2

Dark sky

🛣️

Route 66

Historic segment

🪵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 Inn1930s CCC-built National Historic Landmark, Kachina Point overlookRoadside

Tawa Point & Kachina PointSweeping badlands overlooks, especially at sunrise/sunsetEasy walk

Historic Route 661 stop▾

Route 66 Alignment & 1932 StudebakerThe only national park containing a Route 66 segment — added to the National Register of Historic Places in Feb 2026Roadside pull-out

Petrified Wood & Petroglyphs (South)3 stops▾

Crystal ForestDensest, most colorful petrified log concentration~0.75 mi loop

Newspaper Rock650+ ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs, viewed from overlookRoadside

Agate House & Long LogsPueblo built from petrified wood blocks~2.6 mi loop

🌙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 ↗

🍽️Concession Information4 operators▾

Painted Desert Visitor Center (North)2 operators▾

Painted Desert Oasis Gift ShopOperated by Petrified Forest Trading Company — gifts, legally-sourced petrified wood from private landDaily

Petrified Forest Museum Association BookstoreNonprofit NPS partner — books, maps, educational itemsDaily

Rainbow Forest Museum (South)2 operators▾

Rainbow Forest Lodge Gift ShopOperated by Petrified Forest Trading Company — same product line as Painted Desert locationDaily

Petrified Forest Museum Association BookstoreSecond bookstore location, adjacent to Rainbow Forest MuseumDaily

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 ↗