Park Passport

Petrified Forest National Park AZ

Lat, Long: 34.98387664, -109.7877678

Designation: National Park

Park Hours: 8am to 5pm, MST. Don't forget that Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings. Petrified Forest is best known for its Triassic fossils. It's like having two parks in one, an ecosystem over 200 million years old with plants and animals now represented in the surreal landscape of the Painted Desert. There is also a living park with its own denizens adapted to a demanding environment.

Weather:

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.

Directions:

Petrified Forest stretches north/south between I-40 and Hwy 180. There are two entrances into the park.*** ***WESTBOUND I-40***Travelers should take Exit 311, drive 28 miles through the park to Hwy 180 at the south end. Travel 19 miles to return to I-40 via Holbrook.*** ***EASTBOUND I-40***Travelers should take Exit 285 into Holbrook then travel 19 miles on Hwy 180 to the park's south entrance. Drive 28 miles north through the park to return to I-40.

For more details ›

Address/Contact:

Exit 311

Petrified Forest, US, 86028

Phone: 9285246228

Email: PEFO_information@nps.gov

Entrance Fees:

Sunlit Painted Desert hills of the Petrified Forest National Wilderness AreaSunset lights up the Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark west side.Sunlight highlights the colorful petrified wood of Agate HouseMasonry wall foundations are all that are left of a hundred room puebloTwo visitors walk the Blue Mesa Trail between blue, purple, and grey badlands.many petrified logs lay on the ground and on eroded pedestals of clayA beam of light touches a petroglyph at Puerco Pueblo on the summer solsticea petroglyph pecked into sandstone that represents a mountain lionResearchers dig for fossils in the badlandsyellow and other colors in a piece of brightly colored petrified woodDark blue sky filled with stars over banded badland.