221,415 acres
Park Size
644,922
Annual Visitors
8 mi
Trail Miles
N/A
Campsites
About Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park protects one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood. The logs date back 225 million years to the Late Triassic period, when this region was a tropical forest. Over millennia, the trees were buried by sediment and transformed into quartz, preserving their structure in brilliant colors. The park also encompasses a portion of the Painted Desert, with its striped badlands of red, orange, and purple sedimentary layers.
Park Highlights
- Blue Mesa
- Crystal Forest
- Painted Desert
- Agate Bridge
- Newspaper Rock
- Puerco Pueblo
Activities
Wildlife
Visitor Information
$25
Entrance Fee
Spring, Fall
Best Seasons
Visitor Tips
- It is illegal to remove any petrified wood
- No camping inside park boundaries
- 28-mile scenic drive takes 2-4 hours
- Summer temperatures exceed 100F