3 day itinerary in Petrified Forest

Arizona

1 - 5 days

3 day

itinerary in

Petrified Forest

Agate Bridge

Petrified log crosses gully in sandstone at mesa edge, views.

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

Agate House Trail

Petrified wood village reconstruction.

Reconstructed Ancestral Puebloan village built of petrified wood pieces.

Arizona: Painted Desert Inn

Petrified Forest National Park features historic Route 66, petrified wood.

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.

Blue Mesa

Blue Mesa: stunning badlands with colorful bands and petrified wood.

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 Trail

Walk along Blue Mesa Trail.

Visitors walk along the spectacular Blue Mesa Trail.

Crystal Forest Trail

Petrified logs along Crystal Forest Trail under blue sky scenery.

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

East Old 180

Giant Logs

Giant Logs in Rainbow Forest, Petrified Forest. Origin: Triassic river.

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 Trail

Walk Giant Logs Trail through grassland, see petrified wood pieces.

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

Giant Logs Trail Stop #1

Stop 1 Giant Logs Trail: walking time not specified.

Stop 1 along Giant Logs Trail

Giant Logs Trail Stop #10

Log eroding from hills.

Petrified log eroding from the surrounding hills.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #11

Paleo art shows petrified trees from another time period.

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

Giant Logs Trail Stop #2

Stop #2 on Giant Logs Trail.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #2

Giant Logs Trail Stop #3

Trail stop #3 with giant logs, walking time not mentioned.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #3

Giant Logs Trail Stop #4

Hiking trail to Giant Logs, Stop #4.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #4

Giant Logs Trail Stop #5

Trail stop #5 with giant logs, walking time included.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #5

Giant Logs Trail Stop #6

Trail Stop #6 for giant logs, walking time included.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #6

Giant Logs Trail Stop #7

Trail stop #7, giant logs, walking time not specified

Giant Logs Trail Stop #7

Giant Logs Trail Stop #8

Stop at Giant Logs Trail, walking time 20 minutes.

Giant Logs Trail Stop #8

Giant Logs Trail Stop #9

Kachina Point

View red Painted Desert from Kachina Point.

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

Long Logs Trail

Colorful petrified wood in badlands along Long Logs Trail.

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

Nizhoni Point

Nizhoni Point overlooks Chinle and Bidahochi Formations, walking required.

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

North No Name Point

Red Painted Desert offers great view.

Great view of the red part of the Painted Desert

Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 1

Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 2

Trailhead for Billings Gap route, Off the Beaten Path.

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

Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 3

Scenic viewpoint along off-the-beaten-path route (walking time not specified).

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

Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 4

Stop at Billings Gap Overlook on Off the Beaten Path route.

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

Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 5

View formations at Blue Mesa, walking time mentioned.

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

Off the Beaten Path Onyx Bridge Route Stop 1

Off the path hike to petrified log in red badlands.

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

Walking time not mentioned. Discovery off the beaten path.

Along the Off the Beaten Path to Onyx Bridge.

Off the Beaten Path Onyx Bridge Route Stop 3

Painted Desert Community Complex National Historic Landmark

Mid-Century style buildings, Painted Desert Community Complex, National Historic Landmark.

Painted Desert Community Complex National Historic Landmark is a Mid-Century style collection of buildings.

Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark

Historic building on mesa above Painted Desert, lit by dawn.

Historic Pueblo-Revival style building sitting on the edge of a mesa above the red badlands of the Painted Desert, lit by dawn.

Petrified Forest Museum Association Bookstore, Painted Desert Visitor Center

Park store operated by non-profit supporting Petrified Forest National Park.

The park store is operated by Petrified Forest Museum Association, an official non-profit partner of the National Park Service dedicated to supporting the educational mission of Petrified Forest National Park.

Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area: North Unit

Grasslands between red badlands, mesas in the distance.

Grasslands fill the spaces between red badlands with mesas in the distance.

Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area: South Unit

Petroglyph rocks scattered among buttes and mesas.

Rocks—some with petroglyphs—pile up throughout the scenic view with buttes and mesas under a blue sky.

Petroglyph Canyon

Puerco Pueblo

Puebloan site with petroglyphs, loop trail, mini-museum (walking time: easy).

Ancestral Puebloan site with easy loop trail, petroglyphs, and a mini-museum.

South No Name Pullout

View from South No Name Point: Badland, grassland, mesa; south Petrified Forest.

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

Tawa Point

Tawa Point overlooks red Painted Desert, trailhead to Painted Desert Inn.

Tawa Point overlooks the red part of the Painted Desert and looks towards the Painted Desert Inn. The point is also a trailhead.

Tawa Trail

Hiker in grassland during sunset.

Hiker walking through the grassland under sunset clouds and sky.

The Tepees North Pullout

Beautiful barren badland hills, red and gray, with walking trails.

Red and gray badland hills are beautifully barren.

The Tepees South Pullout

Park area with conical hills resembling tepees, banded mudstones.

The Tepees is a area of the park named for the conical hills with banded mudstones that were thought to resemble tepees—or tipis as some people spell it.