Petrified Forest National Park

We rolled into Petrified Forest National Park not really knowing what to expect. Before this trip, petrified wood sounded interesting in theory, but we weren’t sure how excited the kids would actually be about “old rocks and logs.” Hudson especially didn’t think this would be a fun park. He was very skeptical and honestly didn’t want to go. By the end of the day, though, it ended up being one of the more unique stops of our road trip so far, and honestly everyone was glad we went and spent the day there.

The park feels completely different from anywhere else we’ve been. One minute you’re walking through colorful desert hills (painted desert north end of the park), and the next you’re standing next to giant crystal-filled logs ( south end of the park) that have been sitting there for millions of years.

Starting at Rainbow Forest Museum (South End)

To get to the National Park we had to back track an hour from our campground to the National Park. We started the morning around 8am to get to the park shortly after the gates open. The unique part about this National Forest is that they only have the gates open from 8am-5pm.

Once we arrived we started our morning at the Rainbow Forest Museum where we picked up Junior Ranger books for the kids. This is one of the kids favorite parts about visiting the parks. Macie gets more in-depth than any of the other kids. Lincoln, he’s just there to raise his hand and say the Ranger pledge at the end of the day and Hudson he just wants to find every big hike and conquer it! Jessie and I enjoy that it gives them something to focus on throughout the day and makes every stop feel a little more interactive. It also makes “schooling” on the road easier and brings learning with us no matter where we are.

The museum itself was a good introduction to the park and helped explain how the trees became petrified over time. It’s hard to fully appreciate what you’re seeing later in the day without understanding the process first.

Right outside the museum, we headed over to the Giant Logs Trail.

Giant Logs Trail

The Giant Logs Trail was the perfect first hike for the day. It’s short, easy, and packed with massive petrified logs almost immediately after leaving the parking area.

Seeing the size of these trees up close was wild. Some of them were larger than our 4runner, and the amount of color in the wood surprised Jessie and I. Reds, oranges, yellows, and even deep blues were scattered throughout the logs depending on the minerals that replaced the original wood over time. If you ask Jessie, he can explain the whole process to you about how it happened.. down to the scientific details. As for me, I will stick to the fact that this happened a long time ago and God does miracles.

Lincoln at the Entry For Giant Logs Trail

The kids loved being able to walk right beside them and compare their size to the trees.

Crystal Forest

After leaving the south end of the park, we drove north to the Crystal Forest.

This ended up being one of our favorite stops of the day.

We hiked roughly a mile through the area, weaving between broken petrified logs scattered across the desert floor. Unlike the Giant Logs Trail, this section felt more open and spread out. Everywhere we looked there were pieces of petrified wood sparkling in the sunlight. One of the questions we kept asking ourselves was;

“ How did this big wood round get cut so perfectly?”

“ Did they cut?”

We learned at the end of the trail, that it was not in fact cut by anyone. That petrified wood is not "sliced" with saws at all; instead, the logs break apart naturally. Because the organic material has been entirely replaced by dense quartz, the logs become incredibly hard but brittle and break apart on their own.

Through out this quick hike some of the logs almost looked polished because of how much crystal was exposed inside them. The amount of detail in the wood grain that still remained after years was hard to believe. It was absolutely incredible to see in person.

It also felt quieter here. Once we got a little farther down the trail, we had long stretches where it felt like we had the landscape mostly to ourselves.

Driving the Blue Mesa Loop

From there, we continued on to the Blue Mesa.

The kids were exhausted by this point.

You could either Drive the Blue Mesa Loop or you can hike part of the Blue Mesa Trail. Our family decided to sit in the AC car and drive this part of the park. Lincoln was exhausted and wanted his 100th snack of the day. Macie was tired since we woke her up early ( 7:30am was too early for this princess ha) and Hudson was up for the hike but no one else was.

The Blue Mesa area almost didn’t feel real. The landscape changes completely here, turning into layered blue, purple, and gray badlands that look more like another planet than Arizona.

Even just driving the loop was worth the stop. Every turn opened up another view of striped hills and winding trails below us. We spent a while pulling over at viewpoints and just taking it all in.

This was probably the most visually dramatic part of the park for us.

Heading North Toward the Painted Desert

As the day went on, we slowly made our way north through the park, stopping at overlooks along the way.

Hudson jumping out with his own camera and snapping pictures of everything he could.

One of the best parts about Petrified Forest National Park is that the drives between stops are part of the experience. The scenery constantly changes, and there are viewpoints everywhere.

Eventually we reached the Painted Desert area near the north entrance of the park.

We stopped at the historic Painted Desert Inn which ended up being one of the coolest photo spots in the park. The old architecture mixed with the massive desert views behind it made it feel completely different from the southern side of the park.

Before leaving, we also made a stop at the famous Route 66 Historic Marker and the old Studebaker buried nose-first into the ground. It’s a quick stop, but it made for some fun family photos and was a cool reminder that historic Route 66 once ran directly through this area.

Final Thoughts

Going into the day, we expected to see some petrified wood and maybe spend a few hours driving through the park. Instead, it turned into a full day of constantly changing scenery, easy family-friendly hikes, and some of the most unique landscapes we’ve seen on our trip so far.

For families, this park is incredibly approachable. Most of the stops are short walks, the drives are scenic, and there’s enough variety to keep kids interested throughout the day.

If you only have one day in northern Arizona, Petrified Forest National Park is absolutely worth adding to your route.

-Kayla