Petrified Forest National Park - United States
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About Petrified Forest National Park
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Best time to visit Petrified Forest National Park
Spring, from April through May, and fall, from September through October, offer the most comfortable temperatures for walking the trails and driving the park road with an RV. Summer days regularly top 90 degrees Fahrenheit and bring afternoon thunderstorms tied to the monsoon, while winter can deliver snow, ice, and road closures on the high Colorado Plateau. Shoulder-season visits combine mild weather with thinner crowds at popular stops like Blue Mesa and Crystal Forest.
Cold with possible snow and ice on trails; park open, check road conditions.
Cool and quiet season; dress in layers.
Windy and variable; pleasant daytime hiking.
Ideal shoulder season with mild temperatures.
Warm, dry, and generally sunny.
Hot and dry; carry extra water.
Monsoon thunderstorms with lightning and flash flood risk.
Peak monsoon; avoid washes during storms.
Excellent shoulder season, warm days and cool nights.
Crisp, comfortable weather for hiking and driving the park road.
Cool days, cold nights; thin crowds.
Cold with occasional snow; watch for icy pullouts.
Things to do at Petrified Forest National Park
- Blue Mesa Scenic Drive and Trail ModerateRV parking available
Blue Mesa is a spur road roughly halfway through the park that loops across a mesa with overlooks of blue, purple, gray, and peach banded badlands. The one-mile loop trail descends from the sun shelter trailhead through bentonite hills strewn with petrified wood, with a steep grade at the start. nps.gov/places/blue-mesa.htm
- Giant Logs Trail EasyRV parking available
Giant Logs is a short interpretive loop behind the Rainbow Forest Museum featuring some of the largest and most colorful petrified logs in the park, including the roughly 10-foot-wide Old Faithful. The 0.4-mile paved and graveled trail has several sets of stairs and bus/RV parking at the trailhead. nps.gov/places/giant-logs-trail.htm
- Crystal Forest Trail EasyRV parking available
Crystal Forest is a three-quarter-mile paved loop through one of the largest accumulations of petrified wood in the park. Logs here weather out of the Jasper Forest Bed and date to about 216 million years ago. nps.gov/podcasts/pefo-s-audio-tour.htm
- Painted Desert Rim and Overlooks EasyRV parking available
The north end of the park road traces the edge of the Painted Desert, a surreal landscape of multi-hued badland hills, mesas, and buttes of the Chinle Formation. Pullouts such as Tiponi, Tawa, and Kachina Point offer sweeping RV-friendly viewpoints. nps.gov/articles/nps-geodiversity-atlas-petrified-forest-national-park.htm
- Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs EasyRV parking available
Newspaper Rock is a viewpoint with spotting scopes that look down on a sandstone boulder covered in more than 650 ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs. The overlook is a short walk from the parking area on the main park road. nps.gov/pefo/learn/historyculture/newspaper-rock.htm
- Historic Route 66 Alignment EasyRV parking available
Petrified Forest is the only national park that contains a section of historic Route 66. A pullout on the park road marks the old alignment with a rusting Studebaker and interpretive panels telling the story of the Mother Road. nps.gov/pefo/learn/historyculture/historic-route-66.htm
- Rainbow Forest Museum and Paleo Lab EasyRV parking available
The Rainbow Forest Museum at the south entrance houses Triassic fossil exhibits, a working paleontology lab, and the trailhead for Giant Logs. Bus and RV parking, restrooms, and a bookstore make it a natural first or last stop. nps.gov/places/giant-logs.htm
- Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark EasyRV parking available
The Painted Desert Inn is a restored adobe-style landmark perched above the Painted Desert with Hopi murals by Fred Kabotie and panoramic views. It serves as a museum and bookstore and is reached from Kachina Point parking area. nps.gov/pefo/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm
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RV Rentals Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park, AZ, United States
How to get to Petrified Forest National Park
The north entrance sits at Interstate 40 Exit 311, about 30 minutes east of Holbrook, Arizona and roughly one hour west of Gallup, New Mexico. The south entrance is reached via U.S. Highway 180 North from Holbrook, a 19-mile drive that connects to the park road and exits back to I-40 through the north gate. The route is flat, paved, and free of tunnels or weight-restricted bridges, making it RV-friendly, though high winds across the open plateau can buffet tall rigs. The nearest major airports for fly-and-rent trips are Flagstaff Pulliam, about 110 miles west, and Albuquerque International Sunport, about 220 miles east.
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