How to spend one day at Petrified Forest National Park

When it comes to national parks in Arizona, everyone automatically thinks of the Grand Canyon. And with good reason – the natural wonder draws around 5 million visitors per year – the second-most of the U.S. national parks. Saguaro National Park also does fairly well because of its location surrounding Tucson and draws around 1 million visitors per year. The least-visited national park in Arizona is Petrified Forest National Park. Just over three hours from Phoenix, Petrified Forest offers a vast landscape that can easily be explored in one day.

Logistics

As mentioned above, Phoenix is the nearest major city to Petrified Forest National Park. So if you need to fly, Phoenix Sky Harbor is likely your best bet. If you’ve made the trip to Sedona, you’re just over 2 hours away from Petrified Forest. Albuquerque International Sunport is also an option, but it will likely have less options from your home airport than PHX.

A vehicle pass costs $25 for entry, so we used our America the Beautiful pass to cover our day visit. The park is dog-friendly, but remember to keep your furry friends on a leash and clean up after them to preserve the environment.

What to do in the park

The main park road stretches about 28 miles, and you can enter either from the north or the south. Unless you’re short on time, we would recommend driving the whole park.

The southern part of the park is home to the wood that gives the park it’s name. When you first drive in, stop at the Rainbow Forest Museum and walk the Giant Logs trail. It’s only 0.5 miles but is a great place to start your visit and see some petrified trees.

Not much further into the drive from south to north is the Crystal Forest. Another easy walk of about 0.75 miles, the name comes from the sparkling deposits that can be observed in the logs.

Keep driving and you’ll encounter Blue Mesa. This one mile trail offers sweeping views of rock formations, showing the other primary type of land protected by Petrified Forest National Park.

Puerco Pueblo preserves where people lived over 600 years ago. It’s an easy walk of just over a quarter mile but impressive to see.

Summary

These are just some of the options to see when you visit Petrified Forest National Park. With a full day, you can pick up a map at the Visitor’s Center and make the 28-mile drive through the park with time to stop at every view point and hike if you so choose.

While it takes a little planning to get to, Petrified Forest is well worth a visit when you’re in the Southwest.