Hikes and walks (8)
| Hike | What it is | Time, season, pets |
|---|---|---|
| Walk Long Logs Trail | Explore this ancient log jam at the base of purple and gray badlands along a paved half-mile loop. | 60 to 120 Minutes · All year · Pets OK |
| Walk the Tawa Trail | 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. | 30 Minutes · All year · Pets OK |
| Walk the Painted Desert Rim Trail | 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. | 20 to 120 Minutes · All year · Pets OK |
| Walk Puerco Pueblo Trail | The 3/4 -mile paved Puerco Pueblo Trail features the remnants of a hundred room masonry pueblo. | 10 to 60 Minutes · All year · Pets OK |
| Walk Crystal Forest Trail | 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. | 20 to 120 Minutes · All year · Pets OK |
| Walk Blue Mesa Trail | This 1-mile alternately paved and gravel trail loop offers the unique experience of hiking among banded badland hills of bentonite clay as well as petrified wood. | 30 to 120 Minutes · All year · Pets OK |
| Become a BARK Ranger! | As long as you both follow the BARK Ranger rules, you can take your leashed dog, cat, or other pet almost everywhere you can go in the park. | All year · Pets OK |
| Take a Self-Guided Tour of Giant Logs | Take a self-guided tour of Giant Logs, one of the highest concentration of large, colorful petrified logs. | 30 to 60 Minutes · All year · Pets OK |
Other things to do (7)
| Activity | What it is | Time, season, pets |
|---|---|---|
| Peek into the Paleo Lab | Visit the Museum Demonstration Lab at the Painted Desert Visitor Center Complex where you can ask questions and watch them work on fossils from the park. | All year · Pets OK |
| Go Bicycling | Bicycle, including ebikes, use is permitted on paved park roads and parking areas open to the public as well as some areas listed in the main text. Be careful along park roads, everyone is looking at the view! | All year · Pets OK |
| Collect Your Cancellation Stamps | Collect your cancellation stamp! | 2 to 10 Minutes · All year · No pets |
| Enjoy Horseback Riding | Bring your own horse and take a ride into the backcountry. | All year · Pets OK |
| Explore at the Paleo Exhibits at Rainbow Forest Museum | Explore the paleontology exhibits at Rainbow Forest Museum. | 30 to 60 Minutes · All year · No pets |
| Go Geocaching | Go geocaching. There are multiple caches in the park including traditional and virtual. | 60 Minutes · All year · Pets OK |
| Watch Wildlife | Watching wildlife is a seasonal activity, but just in that the species to watch change, particularly in birdwatching. | 5 to 120 Minutes · All year · Pets OK |
Before you set out
Trail conditions change with snow, fire and storms. Check the park’s current alerts, carry the ten essentials and read know before you go.
Sources
- National Park Service: things to do in Petrified Forest National Park (Data API, public domain)
Last checked 1 November 2026.