Agate Bridge

A single large petrified log spans a gully in very pale sandstone at the edge of the mesa, with spectacular views.

• A single large petrified log spans a gully in very pale sandstone at the edge of the mesa, grasslands beyond stretching towards another set of mesas in the distance.

Agate House Trail

Reconstructed Ancestral Puebloan village built of petrified wood pieces.

• Archeological remnant of a small Puebloan structure built of petrified wood pieces.

Arizona: Painted Desert Inn

Only one national park in the country includes and protects a section of historic Route 66: the Petrified Forest National Park with one of the world’s largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood, multi-hued badlands of the Painted Desert, historic structures, archeological sites, and displays of over 200-million-year-old fossils.

• One construction foreman noted the importance of the building’s details. Its openings, for instance, had semi-oval shapes rather than right-angled edges.  He commented that: "This shape was produced in the rock and plaster to resemble the openings in old pueblo buildings where the wet adobe was shaped by the sweeping motions of the women's arms that shortened the horizontal width of the opening at the top and bottom. The CCC used ponderosa pine and aspen poles from Arizona forests for the vigas or roof beams and crafted handmade light fixtures from tin and wooden tables and chairs with American Indian designs. The concrete floors in the dining room and viewing porch had etched and painted patterns from Navajo blanket designs.

Blue Mesa

Blue Mesa, one of the most beautiful spots in the park, consists of blue, purple, gray, and peach banded badlands with pieces of petrified wood.

• Blue Mesa is edged by blue, purple, gray, and peach banded badlands that drop down from the road to the level of the trail and farther down from the northern escarpment. Sand dunes and grassland top the mesa. There are far views from the mesa top over prairie, outcrops, mesas, and badlands.

Blue Mesa Trail

Visitors walk along the spectacular Blue Mesa Trail.

• Hikers on the paved trail descending into blue, purple, and gray badlands under a blue sky.

Crystal Forest Trail

Multiple tan petrified logs gather along the Crystal Forest Trail under a blue sky with badlands in the background.

• Multiple tan petrified logs gather along the Crystal Forest Trail under a blue sky with badlands in the background.

East Old 180

• The decaying remnants of an old highway leaves the park road heading southeast through grassland, over washes, and by scenic badlands.

Giant Logs

Giant Logs is part of Rainbow Forest in Petrified Forest National Park. Once an ancient log jam in a Late Triassic river, Giant Logs was the heart of the original national monument set aside in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

• Giant Logs is located on a low hill behind the Rainbow Forest Museum. Large and colorful pieces of petrified wood are scattered over the entire area, a butterfly-shaped trail that is paved or graveled winding among the logs. The ground is often covered by rounded ancient river pebbles or some of the native grasses and other plants. The view is of Rainbow Forest with mesas to the north, a large wash beyond the parking lot, the park road heading northeast, historic Rainbow Forest structures (homes and historic lodge) and another log deposit and badlands beyond to the east. Far to the south you can see a little bit of the White Mountains over the grassland.

Giant Logs Trail

Visitors walk along Giant Logs Trail through grassland and pieces of petrified wood.

• Family sits on petrified logs at the trailhead for Giant Logs, grassy hills strewn with petrified wood behind and a blue sky overhead.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #1

Stop 1 along Giant Logs Trail

• Stop 1: How Wood Becomes Petrified A log is petrified when all its original plant material is infilled or replaced by minerals. Approximately 216 million years ago, these trees died and fell into a river. They were buried beneath layers of silt, mud, sand, and volcanic ash, which protected them from decay. Mineral-laden ground water percolated through the layers, carrying silica from the volcanic ash and other trace minerals. The absorbent dead wood became saturated with these minerals. The silica, or quartz, crystals slowly bonded with the cells of the tree replicating the organic material in perfect detail. Eventually, silica replaced the wood material. Now this petrified forest is not made of trees, but of stone.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #10

Petrified log eroding from the surrounding hills.

• Amidst badlands and petrified wood with the paved trail winding through.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #11

Paleo art reminds us that the petrified trees are from another time.

• On a hillside with views in the distance of the grassland, among petrified wood.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #2

Giant Logs Trail Stop #2

• Rocky hill with petrified logs and slabs of conglomerate rocks, one of which has a bronze plaque.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #3

Giant Logs Trail Stop #3

• Stop 3: An Ancient River Walk up the trail and you are walking through an ancient riverbed. The water is gone, but you can reach out and feel the smooth river pebbles. Conglomerate is a type of sedimentary rock made up of rounded fragments cemented within a matrix of fine grain material. All the water-worn river rocks you feel are embedded in sandstone. Sandstone is a sedimentary rock whose presence tells us a great deal about what the land was like when its sandy particles were deposited. Have you ever touched the soft, silty bottom of a river? That is what this stone once felt like, before it was cemented and compacted into rock over millions of years. There are high concentrations of petrified wood deposits here because of the river, too. A dense forest surrounded the ancient river, much like the rain forest that today hugs Amazon River shores. When the trees died, some fell into the water. The “forests” of Petrified Forest National Park are actually petrified log jams where the dead trees were collected, buried, and petrified. Rainbow Forest is an example of where these log jams are eroding to the present surface.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #4

Giant Logs Trail Stop #4

• Stop 4: Recent History This sandstone platform provides a commanding view of the Rainbow Forest building complex. These were some of the first structures built here for park use.  Some were built by workers of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, although a lot of work was done in 1931 before the CCC was formed. In those days Rainbow Forest Museum was the park headquarters. Use this photo to compare and contrast the present with the past. Petrified Forest staff use historic photographs and rephotography to help track change (or lack of change) in park resources.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #5

Giant Logs Trail Stop #5

• Stop 5: Stratigraphy Check out the striped layers of the mesa north of the trail. At one point each stripe was the earth’s surface—until another layer was deposited on top. Each colored band represents a unique landscape. Let’s start with the ground under your feet. You are standing on sandstone. Sandstone is a fluvial, or river, deposit. It is a riverbed laid down about 216 million years ago. Now look out to the mesa and see the next stripe up. It is younger than the rock you stand on. And the next stripe is even younger. The alternating blue-purple bands represent muddy floodplains deposited through time by further river activity. Finally, the mesa is capped by another layer of pale sandstone. This is another river bottom, much younger.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #6

Giant Logs Trail Stop #6

• Old Faithful is the most massive of known logs in the park. It sits on the top of a knoll with many petrified logs and pieces around. The view is vast of the grassland and beyond.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #7

Giant Logs Trail Stop #7

• The trail winds through colorful petrified logs and pieces half way up the hill from the historic Rainbow Forest Museum, a partially masonry building.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #8

Giant Logs Trail Stop #8

• Down between badlands with petrified wood all around.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #9

• Between badlands with stairs going up the hills, surrounded by petrified wood.

Hamilili Dune

• Red sand forms dunes around Hamilili point and nearby fixed by various sand loving plants.

Hamilili Point

Badland, grassland, and mesa view from South No Name Point, the access point for the south unit of the Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area.

• From the pullout to the north you see eroded badlands, goblin sandstone, mostly light colored with some brown and red. Mesas border the horizon, blending up to the grassland. To the south badlands fade into the grassland with a few junipers. The White Mountains border the horizon.

Kachina Point

View from Kachina Point of the red part of the Painted Desert.

• Kachina Point is located on a spit of land on the Painted Dessert Rim, the wide paved trail ending at the circular overlook surrounded by a wall of native sandstone and sheer drop-offs. Views are all around, west, north, and east looking out over red badland topography, some distant views of petrified logs, pale tuff, grassland, and washes, including the very wide Lithodendron Wash to the north. The historic inn—a terracotta colored, stuccoed Pueblo Revival style building—is located passed some juniper trees and shrubs to the south.

Long Logs Trail

Colorful petrified wood pieces in front of blue gray badlands along the Long Logs Trail.

• Colorful petrified wood pieces in front of blue gray badlands along the Long Logs Trail.

Nizhoni Point

Nizhoni Point overlooks the unconformity between the Chinle and Bidahochi Formations.

• Nizhoni Point overlooks the uncomformity between the red Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation and the tan and black Bidahochi Formation, located about 4 miles from the north entrance of Petrified Forest National Park. The overlook is right next to the parking area and is accessible to mobility devices. There is a wayside exhibit.

Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 1

Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 2

Trailhead for the Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook route.

Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 3

View point along the Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook route.

Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 4

Titular stop of the Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook route.

Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 5

Towers, hoodoos, and monuments can be viewed at Blue Mesa.

Off the Beaten Path Onyx Bridge Route Stop 1

An off the beaten path hike into the wilderness to a petrified log hidden in the red badlands.

Off the Beaten Path Onyx Bridge Route Stop 2

Along the Off the Beaten Path to Onyx Bridge.

Off the Beaten Path Onyx Bridge Route Stop 3

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 1

• Parking at the entrance sign, people often take selfies in front of the large sign that also has a few pieces of petrified wood around it. The parking lot is small, but you won't be here long. The freeway is close by and there are native shrubs and other plants around the parking area.

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 10 and South Stop 23

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 11 and South Stop 22

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 12 and South Stop 21

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 13 and South Stop 20

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 14 and South Stop 19

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 15 and South Stop 18

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 16 and South Stop 17

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 17 and South Stop 16

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 18 and South Stop 15

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 19 and South Stop 14

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 2

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 20 and South Stop 13

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 21 and South Stop 12

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 22 and South Stop 11

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 23 and South Stop 10

PEFO Audio Tour North Stop 24 and South Stop 9

Painted Desert Inn

• Painted Desert Inn
• In its almost 100 years overlooking the Painted Desert, the inn has undergone many changes. The original building from the early 1920s was made of petrified wood. Today's stucco façade dates to the 1930s renovation of the Painted Desert Inn. The national historic landmark functions only as a museum now, with no overnight accommodation and food service. Displays inside highlight the building's history, Route 66, and the Civilian Conservation Corps. There are also restored murals by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie.

Painted Desert Visitor Center

• Painted Desert Visitor Center
• Painted Desert Visitor Center is located at exit #311 off of I-40. The center provides information, brochures, book sales, exhibits, and restrooms. A gift shop and convenience store are adjacent to the visitor center. It is part of the Painted Desert Community Complex which is on the National Register of Historic Places. This is the only place you can obtain a permit for Devil's Playground.

Rainbow Forest Museum

• Rainbow Forest Museum
• Rainbow Forest Museum provides exhibits of petrified wood, fossils, and displays of prehistoric animals as well as information, book sales, and restrooms.

• 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.

• Walk Crystal Forest Trail
• Walk Crystal Forest Trail for one of the best opportunities to experience the petrified wood deposits as it loops through rolling gray and purple badlands.

• Walk Blue Mesa Trail
• This 1-mile alternately paved and gravel trail loop offers the unique experience of hiking among banded badland hills of bentonite clay as well as petrified wood.

• Explore at the Paleo Exhibits at Rainbow Forest Museum
• Explore the paleontology exhibits at Rainbow Forest Museum.

• Become a BARK Ranger!
• As long as you both follow the BARK Ranger rules, you can take your leashed dog, cat, or other pet almost everywhere you can go in the park.

• Go Geocaching
• Go geocaching. There are multiple caches in the park including traditional and virtual.

• Watch Wildlife
• Watching wildlife is a seasonal activity, but just in that the species to watch change, particularly in birdwatching.

• Take a Self-Guided Tour of Giant Logs
• Take a self-guided tour of Giant Logs, one of the highest concentration of large, colorful petrified logs.

Off the Beaten Path: Billings Gap Overlook Route

This hike takes you to a great viewpoint of the Billings Gap area between Blue Mesa and the landform to the east. The route follows the steep edge of Blue Mesa and offers views of badlands to the east and the broad grassy valleys to the north and south. The badlands’ blues, purples, grays, and whites seem to shift throughout the day and with the seasons. The summer monsoon adds a touch of green vegetation and wildflowers.

Petrified Forest National Park North Audio Tour

This driving tour takes you through the entire park with multiple stops and information in between from north to south. There is a south version, too. Each stop has an audio file that can be downloaded ahead of time.

Petrified Forest National Park South Audio Tour

This driving tour takes you through the entire park with multiple stops and information in between from south to north. There is a north version, too. Each stop has an audio file that can be downloaded ahead of time.

Walking Tour of Giant Logs Trail

As you walk along the butterfly-shaped trail at Giant Logs, you will see some of the largest, most colorful petrified logs in the park. It is an opportunity to learn about how the logs were petrified and other aspects of Petrified Forest.