Painted Desert Visitor Center
Our tour begins at the Painted Desert Visitor Center at 1 Park Rd. If you’re not there already, you should head there now. Note: This 28+mile-long tour covers the essentials of Petrified in 2-3 hours.
Painted Desert Visitor Center
Our tour begins at the Painted Desert Visitor Center at 1 Park Rd. If you’re not there already, you should head there now. Note: This 28+mile-long tour covers the essentials of Petrified in 2-3 hours.
Painted Desert Rim Trail
Coming up soon is the Painted Desert Rim Trail, an easy 1-mile hike that takes around 25 minutes.
Painted Desert Inn
You’ll have the opportunity to see the Painted Desert Inn. This abandoned hotel dates back to the early 1900s and offers a fascinating glimpse into early tourism in the region.
Pintado Point
Pintado Point is coming up in just a moment. As the highest overlook in the park, it offers a 360-degree view of the Painted Desert badlands. But how exactly did these badlands form?
Nizhoni Point
“Nizhoni” means beautiful in Navajo, a name that describes the first overlook perfectly.
Lacey Point
Lacey Point is just ahead, named after Iowa Congressman John Lacey. Lacey spent his congress years working tirelessly to protect plants and wildlife.
U.S. Rt. 66
Petrified Forest is the only national park that contains a section of Historic Route 66, that essential piece of Americana.
Newspaper Rock
This prominent embodiment of the Blue Mesa layer is covered in rock carvings called petroglyphs.
Historic Blue Forest Trailhead
This moderately challenging 2.4-mile roundtrip route takes around an hour to complete.
Blue Mesa
10-minute detour to the Blue Mesa Trail. The views that color this easy 1-mile loop trail make it a hugely popular stop for most visitors. The trail itself takes about 25 minutes.
Agate Bridge
The “bridge” in question here is actually a 110-foot-long petrified log spanning a gully! With each end firmly embedded in sandstone, this petrified log forms a sturdy natural bridge.
Jasper Forest
Jasper Forest, an incredible garden of petrified wood. The logs aren’t actually jasper, but they do look like it!
Crystal Forest
This 15-minute, easy trail features intact petrified logs with quartz crystals that sparkle in the sun.
Rainbow Forest Museum
Once the heart of the Petrified Forest National Monument, the Rainbow Forest Museum acts as one of the earliest facilities.
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