Petrified Forest National Park

In 2012, I traveled to Northern Arizona for the first time and instantly fell in love. With the mountains, the colors, the rocks and the people. This past week, I was honored to share my love for Arizona with my littlest adventurer on a one week road trip! After a quick detour in Seligman, we headed to the often overlooked, but stunningly gorgeous Petrified Forest National Park.

This Park is special for a multitude of reasons! We started out at the North entrance and worked our way South; the route I would recommend anyone else who visits also takes. The reason? You get to experience the Painted Desert area of the Park during the perfect lighting before the harshness of the afternoon sun wipes out the beauty of the colors that surround you there. In the Southern portion of the Park, you’ll be greeted by thousands of pieces of petrified wood. My favorite portion of the Southern section was the Crystal Forest. An area littered with the most beautiful quartz pieces I’ve ever seen! And, if you’re lucky, you’ll find the hidden petroglyphs that you can walk right up to in the central section of the Park.

There are really only a few designated trails, the first of which is the Painted Desert Rim Trail, clocking in at one mile round trip. The others are the Blue Mesa Loop Trail (one mile) in the middle of the Park, the Crystal Forest Loop Trail (3/4 mile) in the southern portion of the Park and the Agate House/Long Logs (2.6 miles) and Giant Logs Trails (1/2 mile) at the South Entrance of the Park. The rest of the Park is seen by pulling off into overlook parking areas. Or, if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous……

Your other option is to check out the Park’s “off the beaten path” areas. These are pathless trails in the designated wilderness areas of the Park. Because you’re in designated wilderness, you’ll need to have backcountry navigation skills, along with a map and compass (and the ability to use them properly) to venture into these areas of the Park. If you want to explore these areas, but aren’t sure about your backcountry skills, check with the Park Rangers as well. They do offer guided tours into designated wilderness areas from time to time.

Want to spend extra time in the Park and experience it like most others never will? Well, you can go backpacking with a free permit from either the North or South entrance visitor centers! That’s right. I said FREE!!! This is the only way to camp in the Park as the nearest tent camping sites are approximately 20 miles away in the city of Holbrook. One of the more popular backpacking routes is the approximately 16 mile round trip trek to Pilot Rock. The unofficial trailhead is located behind the Painted Desert Inn, just inside the North entrance of the Park. Because of this, a drive through the Park upon your summit completion could be the perfect way to end your epic adventure! If you do decide to go backpacking, remember that you’ll need to pack in all of your water and practice Leave No Trace while adventuring.

Upon leaving at the South section of the Park, beware of the Crystal Forest Gift Shop. They advertise free camping, but they only accommodate those they want. If they don’t feel you are worthy, they will turn you away with no compassion or sympathy at all. And the blonde woman, who has gotten numerous bad reviews on freecampsites.net, lives up to her reputation. Better to support the Parks and buy your souvenirs at either visitor center as both of the stores just outside of the Park are privately owned and operated with no affiliation to the park services whatsoever.

Whether you decide to backpack for days or drive right through the Park, a stop at Petrified Forest National Park just outside of Holbrook, AZ off of I-40 is the perfect Northern Arizona experience.