Petrified Forest National Park covers 221,390 acres in Arizona. It became a national park on December 9, 1962, the 30th of today’s 64 parks to get that title. It recorded 315,951 recreation visits in 2025, the 48th most of the 63 parks with a 2025 count.
Today at Petrified Forest
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Alerts: National Park Service, checked hourly. Forecast: National Weather Service, for Painted Desert Visitor Center. Always confirm on the official park site before you set out.
In the park service’s words
A landscape where deep time lies fully on display, Petrified Forest National Park blends colorful badlands, vast grasslands, and one of the world’s largest and most vivid collections of petrified wood. Spanning more than 200 million years of geologic history, the park protects ancient fossils, ancestral Puebloan sites, habitat for desert animals, and a sweeping stretch of historic Route 66.
From the National Park Service (public domain).
Entrance fee and passes
The standard entrance pass is $25 per vehicle. Admits one private, non-commercial vehicle (15-passenger capacity or less) and all occupants. Valid for 7 days.
The $80 America the Beautiful pass for U.S. residents covers this fee and everyone in your car. It pays for itself after 4 visits at this price, and it is accepted at every national park.
Entrance is free for U.S. residents on the 2026 fee-free days.
Best time to visit
- Best time to visit Petrified Forest: March, April, October and November. The weather is at its most comfortable then, and crowds are lighter than at the peak.
- Busiest month: May, with about 61,086 visits in a typical recent year. That is 2.8 times as many as January.
- Quietest month: January (22,019 visits).
Bar height: visitors that month, compared with the busiest month. Temperatures: average daily high and low (°F); rain and snow: monthly averages. Best marks the months we suggest.
More detail: the best time to visit Petrified Forest, month by month.
Plan your visit
- Best time to visit: crowds and weather month by month
- Itinerary: ready-made plans for 1 to 3 days
- Things to do: 8 hikes and 7 other activities
- Getting there: Nearest gas to Painted Desert Visitor Center: Chevron, 0.0 miles away. Closest airport Show Low Regional Airport (51 mi)
- Know before you go: safety, what to pack and what to leave at home
Popular hikes
- Walk Long Logs Trail (60 to 120 Minutes): Explore this ancient log jam at the base of purple and gray badlands along a paved half-mile loop.
- Walk the Tawa Trail (30 Minutes): Enjoy the tranquility of the grassland as the paved trail leads you to scenic Tawa Point. The 1.2-mile one way Tawa Trail is a perfect place to stretch your legs after a long road trip.
- Walk the Painted Desert Rim Trail (20 to 120 Minutes): This unpaved trail winds 1-mile round trip through the rim woodland, a place for chance encounters of many species of plants and animals and spectacular views of the Painted Desert.
- Walk Puerco Pueblo Trail (10 to 60 Minutes): The 3/4 -mile paved Puerco Pueblo Trail features the remnants of a hundred room masonry pueblo.
- Walk Crystal Forest Trail (20 to 120 Minutes): Walk Crystal Forest Trail for one of the best opportunities to experience the petrified wood deposits as it loops through rolling gray and purple badlands.
Webcams
Weather, in the park service’s words
The park service says:
Petrified Forest National Park is a semi-arid grassland. Temperatures range from above 100° F (38° C) to well below freezing. About 10 inches (25.4 cm) of moisture comes during infrequent snow in the winter and often dramatic summer thunder-storms. Animals and plants are adapted to extremes in temperature and moisture. You should be ready too. Check out the forecast before you arrive and plan accordingly.
From the National Park Service (public domain).
Nearby national parks by road
- Grand Canyon (Arizona): about 3 h 45 min by car (203 miles)
- Mesa Verde (Colorado): about 4 h 10 min by car (214 miles)
- Saguaro (Arizona): about 5 h 55 min by car (267 miles)
- Canyonlands (Utah): about 6 h 10 min by car (314 miles)
Drive times run between the closest visitor centers of each pair, estimated with OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap roads. Link several parks with the road trip planner.
Sources
Last checked 1 November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to enter Petrified Forest National Park?
The standard entrance pass is $25 per vehicle. Admits one private, non-commercial vehicle (15-passenger capacity or less) and all occupants. Valid for 7 days.
What state is Petrified Forest National Park in?
Arizona.
When did Petrified Forest become a national park?
December 9, 1962.
How many people visit Petrified Forest?
315,951 recreation visits were counted in 2025.
When is the best time to visit Petrified Forest?
March, April, October and November. May is the busiest month and January the quietest while the park is fully open.
