Petrified Forest in One Day

A nonstop drive through the park (28 mi) takes only 45 minutes, but you can spend most of a day exploring if you stop along the way. From almost any vantage point you can see the multicolored rocks and hills that were home to prehistoric humans and ancient dinosaurs.

Entering the park from the north, stop at Painted Desert Visitor Center and see a 20-minute introductory film. Painted Desert Inn visitor center, 2 mi south of the north entrance, provides further orientation in the form of guided ranger tours. Drive south 8 mi to reach Puerco Pueblo, a 100-room pueblo built before 1400. Continuing south, you'll find Puebloan petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock and, just beyond, the Teepees, cone-shaped rock formations covered with manganese and other minerals.

Blue Mesa is roughly the midpoint of the drive, and the start of a 1-mi, moderately steep loop hike that leads you around badland hills made of bentonite clay. Drive on for 5 mi until you come to Jasper Forest, just past Agate Bridge, with views of the landscape strewn with petrified logs. Crystal Forest, 18 mi south of the north entrance, is named for the smoky quartz, amethyst, and citrine along the 0.8-mi loop trail. Rainbow Forest Museum, at the park's south entrance, has restrooms, a bookstore, and exhibits. Just behind Rainbow Forest Museum is Giant Logs, a 0.4-mi loop that takes you to Old Faithful, the largest log in the park, estimated to weigh 44 tons