Petrified Forest National Park Driving Tour

$14.99

Estimated Time

Distance

Works Offline

Tours & Maps Included

Tour Highlights

Tiponi Point

One of the best Painted Desert overlooks, showcasing colorful layers of badlands and millions of years of geological history.

Painted Desert Inn

A historic Route 66-era inn featuring Hopi murals, Civilian Conservation Corps architecture, and panoramic desert views.

Blue Mesa

The park's signature landscape of colorful badlands and exposed petrified wood.

Agate Bridge

A 110-foot petrified log naturally suspended across a wash and preserved with supports installed over a century ago.

Crystal Forest

The premier location to see petrified wood up close.

Top Things to Do in Petrified Forest National Park

Walk the Crystal Forest Trail

Crystal Forest features one of the densest concentrations of petrified wood in the park. Visitors can walk among fossilized logs filled with quartz, jasper, agate, and even purple amethyst crystals. The area was once heavily damaged by gem hunters searching for crystals before federal protection ended the destruction.

Explore Blue Mesa

Blue Mesa is often considered the park's most spectacular landscape. The colorful badlands feature blue-gray bentonite clay, purple hills, exposed petrified logs, and an easy trail through an otherworldly landscape.

Visit Puerco Pueblo and Newspaper Rock

Walk through the remains of a 650-year-old pueblo and view more than 650 petroglyphs carved into stone by ancestral Puebloan people. These sites reveal that the region supported thriving communities centuries before European arrival.

Drive Historic Route 66

One of the few national parks containing an original section of Route 66, Petrified Forest preserves a stretch of the Mother Road along with its famous rusted Studebaker.

Visit Rainbow Forest Museum

The southern visitor center offers exhibits on petrified wood formation, prehistoric animals, and the geology that created this remarkable landscape.

Is This Tour Right for You?

Perfect if you:

Love history and fascinating stories

What To explore at your own pace

prefer a private experience

What to avoid expensive group tours

Maybe not if you:

Don't have a phone

Like to follow the tour guide

Don't like stories

Don't like to go at your own pace

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a Petrified Forest National Park tour take?

Driving straight through the park takes about an hour, but most visitors spend 3–6 hours exploring overlooks, hiking trails, archaeological sites, and museums.

Is Petrified Forest worth visiting?

Absolutely. The park combines geology, archaeology, Route 66 history, and some of the world's finest petrified wood deposits into one unforgettable experience.

What is the best hike in Petrified Forest National Park?

The Crystal Forest Trail and Blue Mesa Trail are two of the most popular and rewarding walks in the park.

Can you take petrified wood home?

No. Removing petrified wood is illegal and damages the park's scientific resources. Rangers estimate about twelve tons disappear annually due to theft.

What makes Petrified Forest unique?

It preserves fossilized trees over 220 million years old, colorful Painted Desert landscapes, Native American archaeological sites, and a historic section of Route 66 all within one national park.