Must see stops at Petrified Forest National Park

View previous step
2 / 6
  • Start your visit at the Painted Desert Visitor Center. Watch the park film, shop the bookstore, have lunch at the Painted Desert Oasis restaurant or check out the souvenirs at the Fred Harvey gift shop.
  • The historic Painted Desert Inn, once the park’s first visitor center, gift shop and restaurant, is now a museum. The murals inside were painted by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie in the 1930s. The Inn is a registered  national historic landmark building.
  • A rusted car in a field near I-40 marks a section of the old U.S. Route 66. Despite the length of the 'mother road'  – it ran from Chicago, Ill. to Santa Monica, Ca. – Petrified Forest was the only national park site the road went through.
  • At Puerco Pueblo, stabilized ruins of an Ancestral Puebloan village give visitors a glimpse into the life of the Ancestral Puebloans. Rocks just below the rim of the paved trail hold numerous petroglyphs, including this solstice marker.More than 600 petroglyphs are visible at the nearby Newspaper Rock stop, located on the west side of the scenic road. 
  • The Blue Mesa area is one of the prettiest sections of the park. Thousands of pieces of wood and even whole petrified logs are located below the rim on the Blue Mesa Trail. 
  • The Rainbow Forest Museum has displays about animal life in the Triassic age. Behind the Museum, take a short walk along the Giant Logs Trail. Old Faithful, the largest log along the easy path, is almost nine feet in diameter.
The Painted Desert Inn
Photo: Photo by Karen Sweeny-Justice

The Painted Desert Inn

The historic Painted Desert Inn, once the park’s first visitor center, gift shop and restaurant, is now a museum. The murals inside were painted by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie in the 1930s. The Inn is a registered national historic landmark building.

Return to article

, Phoenix National Parks and Federal Lands Examiner

After spending two decades living and working in many of America’s beautiful national parks, Karen Sweeny-Justice now calls Surprise, Arizona home. Inspired by the beautiful landscapes of the southwest, she enjoys exploring the great outdoors.