Petrified Forest National Park

Places to Go in the Park

• Painted Desert

The Painted Desert is a desert of badlands located on the southeastern side of Petrified Forest National Park. The Painted Desert is well known for its color due to red rock and shades of lavender. Much of the forest area is protected by the Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area, which is not accessible to motor vehicles.

The Painted Desert Visitor Center offers archaeological information, a bookstore, a gift shop, food, and gas. You may also visit the Painted Desert Inn, which provides exhibitions about the park’s human history.

• Route 66 Alignment

It is the only park in the national park system that contains a section of Historic Route 66. From Chicago to Los Angeles, this is a symbol of opportunity, adventure, and exploration. This road was established in 1926. The road enhances the opportunity to discover the local culture, lifestyle, flair, and regional flavor.

• Puerco Pueblo

The village of Puerco Pueblo is located near the Puerco River. Due to the drought of the 1200s, the Puebloan people moved away from their small, scattered hamlets and built Pueblo communities. There are more than 100 rooms that were used for living and storing. They also had some underground rooms known as kivas, which were used for ceremonies. Activities like cooking and crafting took place in the plaza. The exterior wall didn’t contain any windows or doors. They entered the village with the help of ladders.

 The river served as a source of water. They usually farmed corn, beans, and squash by the floodplain or the terraces along the river. The river also worked as a corridor to bring new ideas and goods from travelers and traders. The habitat disappeared in 1380 due to climate change. Now people only visit the infrastructure and crafts.

• Newspaper Rock

It is an archaeological site that boasts over 650 petroglyphs on a group of rock faces in a small area. Petroglyphs are rock carvings made by pecking directly on the rock. People of different generations have visited the place and marked the rock. These petroglyphs were done by the Puebloan people between 650 and 2000 years ago. Some of the ancient artists may have lived in Puerco Pueblo, which is just one mile away from the site. The petroglyphs are not readable, but modern American Indian groups’ interpretations include family or clan symbols, spiritual meanings, and calendar events.

• Blue Mesa

The trail is 1.6 km long, and the loop road is 5.6 km. You can walk through the trail or drive on the road to explore the colorful geology of blue, purple, or gray. The gravel trail loop will give you the opportunity to enjoy the hike among badland hills and petrified wood. This place is prominent to paleontologists for its geology. They have even found various plant and animal fossils in the sedimentary layers of Blue Mesa.

• Crystal Forest

Crystal Forest is located at the south end of the national park. The Crystal Forest has everything like long logs, huge logs, colorful logs, and shimmering logs. The trail is 0.75 miles long, and you can walk through it while exploring the surroundings. Keep in mind the closing time of the trail.

• Jasper Forest Overlook

This overlook provides a bird’s eye view of the desert and the scattered rainbow petrified logs. The trail is 2.5 miles long. In 1882, after the construction of the railroad, much of the petrified wood of this forest had been depleted. Through this incident in 1906, Petrified Forest became a National Monument.