Petrified Forest National Park

The Petrified Forest National Park is entered through the Painted Desert at Exit 311. If you know you would like to visit the park and don't mind missing the Painted Desert Indian Center and Stewarts Rock shop, it's better to take US 180 south and east from Holbrook then north to I-40. Otherwise, you'll need to take Exit 311, drive south on US 180 to the southern end of the Petrified Forest then backtrack north to enter I-40 at Exit 311 again.

Entrance to the park is $25 and it's good for 7 days. It's free if you have an America the Beautiful annual pass which costs $80. The annual pass allows free entrance to federally operated recreation sites across the country and is valid for a year. You can purchase the annual pass online with a $5 handling fee or get one at park entrances.

Stop at the Painted Desert Visitor Center to learn about the park.

Because of COVID, the park was not crowded at all.

Stop at Tiponi Point and Tawa Point to get a view of the multi-colored rocks in the Painted Desert.

The Painted Desert Inn is now a museum.

Right before crossing I-40, a 1932 Studebaker shows where a section of old Route 66 crossed the park.

Puerco Pueblo is a 0.3 mile easy loop trail that highlights petroglyphs and ancestral Puebloan homes.

Some of the petroglyphs on the rocks.

The Newspaper Rock has over 650 petroglyphs, some over 2000 years old.

The Blue Mesa can be seen on a 3.5 mile loop drive.

Stop at the Agate Bridge, a 110-foot long petrified log bridge.

The Jasper Forest and Crystal Forest have a high concentration of petrified wood.

Close up of the petrified wood.

You can continue to the south entrance to visit the Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center but if you're short of time, turn around after the Crystal Forest.

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