15 Best Things to Do in Petrified Forest National Park
Once a stop off Historic Route 66, Petrified Forest National Park in the Painted Desert of northern Arizona is one of the most uniquely beautiful National Parks in the country!
By this, I mean that Petrified Forest is quite different from others like Zion, Glacier, or the nearby Grand Canyon, in that many of the best things to see and do are all concentrated within a relatively small area.
For this reason, the day hikes are short, the drive through the park only covers about 28 miles (45.1 km), and in my opinion, the best of Petrified Forest can generally be seen and enjoyed with just a day or two!
Hiking Checklist - Petrified Forest
Obviously, for camping, you will need general backpacking gear. For this reason, I wrote a separate post about what backpacking gear is worth the money, from my experience, and what the best alternatives are to save you money.
Read My Separate Post: Best Ultralight Backpacking Gear
In addition, here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in Petrified Forest National Park.
15 Best Things to Do in Petrified Forest National Park
The following list is written in no particular order of best or worst, but as for any adventure in the Southwest, it’s best to plan your trip around the conditions.
What I mean is that the summer season often brings temperatures that can soar well into the upper 90sº F (+35º C) and monsoonal thunderstorms that can pop up out of nowhere. I’ve even experienced lightning storms during the winter!
This is all to say, make smart decisions and know your limits!
1. Billings Gap Overlook Trail
Distance: 2.2 miles / 3.5 km
The Billings Gap Overlook Trail is one of Petrified Forest’s best-kept secrets!
By this, I mean that the hike to the Billings Gap Overlook follows what the National Park Service calls a 'social trail,' meaning that the hike is neither designated nor maintained by the agency.
Being the case, the Billings Gap Overlook Trail is not only one of the least-hiked trails within the park, but it is also one of the easier trails in Petrified Forest, which I encourage you to learn more about in my separate article.
Read My Separate Post: Billings Gap Overlook Trail
2. Nizhoni Point
Nizhoni Point is one of many drive-up viewpoints off the northern loop, but in my opinion, Nizhoni Point is my favorite place to enjoy the rolling badlands of the Painted Desert.
For photographers, places like Nizhoni Point can make for great compositions if you explore the ridges and play around with the landscape—specifically using a longer lens to compress the shot.
Google Maps Directions: Nizhoni Point
3. Crystal Forest Trail
Distance: 0.8 miles / 1.3 km
The Crystal Forest Trail is, without a doubt, one of the best all-around day hikes in Petrified Forest National Park!
By this, I mean that few trails feature as large of a collection of petrified wood or are as easily accessible as the loop trail through the Crystal Forest, making this quick and easy day hike one of the best choices for all people, of all abilities.
Read My Separate Post: Crystal Forest Trail
4. Route 66 Studebaker
Petrified Forest National Park is the only National Park in the U.S. with a portion of the Historic Route 66 passing right through!
That being said, Route 66 is ingrained in the park’s history. It’s how travelers used to visit Petrified Forest, and it’s why the historic Painted Desert Inn is located where it is today!
However, this all goes without saying that only traces of the Mother Road can be found in Petrified Forest today, but even so, I highly recommend stopping at the 1932 Studebaker pullout, to see and learn most about what the historic highway meant to the United States in its early automobile history.
Google Maps Directions: Route 66 Pullout
5. Puerco Pueblo Trail
Distance: 0.3 miles / 0.5 km
The Puerco Pueblo Trail is one of the easiest hikes in Petrified Forest National Park, and it’s the best trail to see up close what living in the Southwest used to be like centuries ago.
To learn more, I highly recommend this short, kid-friendly trail to all visitors, as the whole adventure takes such a short amount of time to see before moving on to other areas in the park.
All said, I also recommend checking out my separate article linked below, as the petroglyphs shown in the photo below are a little trickier to spot than you may initially think!
Read My Separate Post: Puerco Pueblo Trail
6. Tawa Trail
Distance (One Way): 1.2 miles / 1.9 km
The Tawa Trail is the go-trail adventure for travelers on I-40 looking to get out, stretch their legs, and see a little bit of Petrified Forest without paying the National Park entrance fee!
To this point, the Tawa Trail is the perfect adventure for those who only have a short time to visit the park before getting back on the road, and I encourage you to learn more about the day hike, including how to hike the trail for free, in my separate article linked below.
Read My Separate Post: Tawa Trail
7. Painted Desert Rim Trail
Distance (One Way): 0.5 miles / 0.8 km
The Painted Desert Rim Trail is listed immediately following the Tawa Trail because it is often seen as its sister hike, being that the two are commonly combined into one longer 3.4-mile (5.5 km) adventure.
By this, I mean that the end of the Tawa Trail is the start of the Painted Desert Rim Trail, meaning that all 3.4 miles (5.5 km) to the historic Painted Desert Inn can be enjoyed without ever having to pay to enter the park!
Read My Separate Post: Painted Desert Rim Trail
8. Ice Cream (Painted Desert Inn)
Whether you’re coming off a long cross-country roadtrip on I-40 or finishing one of the many beautiful trails in Petrified Forest, there’s nothing quite like visiting the Painted Desert Inn for a double scoop of ice cream on a hot summer day!
However, as of my most recent visit, the ice cream parlor in the Painted Desert Inn still operates as a cash-only business, meaning that you may be turned away if you don’t come to the park prepared!
Google Maps Directions: Painted Desert Inn
9. Blue Mesa Scenic Drive & Trail
Distance: 1.0 miles / 1.6 km
The Blue Mesa is, without a doubt, one of the best and most beautiful places in Petrified Forest National Park.
I say this because the Blue Mesa is not only a beautiful scenic drive with a number of pullover lookouts, but there are also a handful of amazing trails, all centered around this one beautiful spot in the heart of the Petrified Forest Painted Desert.
Read My Separate Post: Blue Mesa Trail
10. Historic Blue Forest Trail
Distance (Roundtrip): 2.6 miles / 4.2 km
The Historic Blue Forest Trail was not placed after the Blue Mesa Trail by coincidence. Instead, the two, whether hiked separately or as one, make for some of the best adventures in all of Petrified Forest National Park.
That being said, I personally find the Historic Blue Forest Trail to be the better of the two, but I highly encourage you to read my separate article if you’re interested in seeing what it takes to combine the two trails.
Read My Separate Post: Historic Blue Forest Trail
11. Jasper Forest Trail
Distance: 2.4 miles / 3.9 km
To most, Jasper Forest is just a scenic overlook. However, beyond the overlook, there is a lesser-known hike known as the Jasper Forest Trail, that descends the cliffs of the mesa, following the old 1930s Jasper Forest Road through one of the most beautiful collections of petrified wood found anywhere in the park.
This area was once called the 'First Forest.'
In any case, what is left of the road today is known as the Jasper Forest Trail, and it can be one of the more vague and confusing hikes in Petrified Forest National Park. For this reason, I highly recommend reading through my separate article before venturing out into this remote and often untrafficked area of the park.
Read My Separate Post: Jasper Forest Trail
12. Newspaper Rock
"Newspaper Rock" is a common name across the southwestern United States, referring to areas with an unusually high amount of petroglyphs left behind by the ancestral Puebloans who once lived in the area.
In Petrified Forest, the story is no different, as petroglyphs can be found in areas all across the park. However, none are as large or as intricate as Newspaper Rock, located about 11.9 miles (19.2 km) south of the Painted Desert Visitor Center.
Google Maps Directions: Newspaper Rock
13. Long Logs & Agate House Trail
Distance: 2.6 miles / 4.2 km
The Long Logs-Agate House Trail is an adventure in Petrified Forest unlike any other.
What I mean is that the Agate House is arguably the most-accessible archaeological feature found anywhere throughout the park, making both this and the Long Logs Loop Trail a great day hike in the southern part of Petrified Forest to enjoy some of the best sites the Historic Rainbow Forest District has to offer!
Read My Separate Post: Long Logs & Agate House Trail
14. Painted Desert Inn
Whether you stop in for the ice cream, as mentioned above, or come by trail along the Painted Desert Rim, the Painted Desert Inn is a must-see stop in Petrified Forest National Park.
The historic inn dates back to the early 1920s, well before the full Route 66 was completed in 1938, and it, along with the Route 66 pullout, are two of the best places in Petrified Forest to learn about how the old Mother Road shaped the park’s history into what we see today!
Google Maps Directions: Painted Desert Inn
15. Giant Logs Trail
Distance: 0.6 miles / 1.0 km
The Giant Logs Trail is one of Petrified Forest’s easiest and most iconic day hikes, featuring the park’s most famous log that goes by the name 'Old Faithful'.
This 'giant log' is said to be to Petrified Forest what Old Faithful is to Yellowstone National Park.
In any case, the Giant Logs Trail is a very easy day hike, and what most don’t know is that the Giant Logs Trail is one of the better places to watch sunset in Petrified Forest, considering that the hike back in the dark is so short!
Read My Separate Post: Giant Logs Trail
5 Best Things to Do Near Petrified Forest National Park
It’s no secret that Petrified Forest National Park is not very convenient to a number of other destinations in the Southwest, like White Sands, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, or even the beautiful lakes in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.
However, there are a number of great things to see and do in the area, both near Petrified Forest and within a half-day’s drive!
1. Mesa Italiana Restaurant
Across the West, there’s no shortage of places to sit down for a burger and fries, and that’s exactly why I love little hidden gems like the Mesa Italiana Restaurant in Holbrook, about a 20-minute drive from the visitor center.
This little Italian hole-in-the-wall has a huge menu with options to make everyone in your group happy, and if you’ve just spent a long day exploring the park, don’t worry about cleaning up before coming. They’ll be happy to have you, as they’re accustomed to seeing park visitors!
Yelp: Mesa Italiana Restaurant
2. Wigwam Motel
Does the Cozy Cone Motel ring a bell?
Well, if the 2006 Disney-Pixar movie Cars brings a little nostalgia, then the real-life Cozy Cone will surely do the same!
Located right outside the park in Holbrook, Arizona, the real-life Wigwam Motel is where the movie got its inspiration.
That being said, rooms at the Wigwam Motel can be quite popular, but as long as you book in advance, they can also make for quite an affordable place to stay when visiting Petrified Forest National Park!
3. Butterfield Stage Co. Steak House
The Butterfield Stage Co. Steak House is arguably the best dine-in restaurant found anywhere near Petrified Forest National Park.
Think medium-rare prime rib or a T-bone steak cooked to perfection, and this is exactly what you can expect at this cowboy-style saloon off Historic Route 66, located just minutes away from the Wigwam Motel mentioned above!
4. Four Corners
Four Corners Monument is not often a convenient stop when driving across the Southwest, but if you happen to be making your way between Petrified Forest, Moab, Mesa Verde National Park or even Albuquerque, then I highly recommend making the trip out of the way to Four Corners!
This quick stop may be just to 'say you did it,' but even still, I think that Four Corners makes for a nice place to get out of the car, stretch your legs, and simply break up a long day on the road.
Google Maps Directions: Four Corners Monument
5. Arches & Canyonlands National Park
In this part of the country, everything feels so spaced out from one another, but Petrified Forest, as well as the parks in Moab, are two places that make for a great roadtrip when put together!
That being said, I recognize that it’s a bit unfair to recommend two National Parks as one suggestion, but I’ve written two entirely separate articles to break down my favorite things to do in either park, just as I have with Petrified Forest.
Read My Separate Posts: Arches & Canyonlands National Park
