Petrified Forest National Park

One way to make a cross country road trip more enjoyable is to explore sights in route to your final destination. This is how we found ourselves at Petrified Forest National Park. On our first camper van adventure, we used a 3 hour stop in the park as a way to stretch our legs and were surprised by the vast beauty and diversity of the park.

Colorful Vistas

Petrified Forest National Park is small. There is just one park road spanning 28 miles from the north to south visitor centers. We started at the north end of the park and were surprised by our first looks at the painted desert landscape. The views are even more stunning when contrasted against the bright blue Arizona sky.

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After stopping at Tiponi and Tawa Point overlooks, we proceeded south through the park to Puerco Pueblo and Newspaper Rock. Here we discovered the the remnants of an ancient Puebloan village that was occupied between 1250 and 1380. The third mile walk around the pueblo also highlights a couple locations were petroglyphs can be found.

Puerco Pueblo

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For event more interesting petroglyphs, travel just a couple miles south from Puerco Pueblo to Newspaper Rock. At Newspaper Rock you can use park provided binoculars to view over 650 petroglyphs, some of which are over 2,000 years old. The site is called Newspaper Rock because petroglyphs are a form of communication. The pictures tell others of nearby water sources, animals or impending dangers.

Newspaper Rock

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Next, we traveled further into the park for a drive passed the Blue Mesa before stopping for a quick walk through the Crystal Forest. Sadly, we did not drive into the Blue Forest and hike the one mile Blue Mesa Trail. In hindsight I wish we would have. Despite not seeing the Blue Mesas up close, the boys loved the Crystal Forest. They were so excited to find the vibrant colored minerals fossilized in the logs.

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Prior to arriving at Crystal Forest, we did not see a single log! That soon changed. Crystal Forest is a sea of logs (pun intended). Over 200 million years ago, this area of Arizona was a rainforest. The logs we see today, died and fell into a river. When the tress died, they fell into a river and were then buried in layers of silt, sand, mud and volcanic ash. The river was mineral filled and the dead wood of the fallen trees became saturated with the minerals in the river water. This is how the logs become petrified. They really aren’t wood anymore, but rather stone. Quartz to be specific. The minerals in the water are what gave the logs color. Irons gives red, orange and yellow hues. Manganese causes the blue, purple and black tones. Amazing.

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After our time at Crystal Forest, we went to the south end of the park for our final stop; Giant Logs Trail. Be sure to stop at the Rainbow Forest Visitor’s Center become heading out on the third mile trail. They offer a fantastic brochure with details about each stop on the trail.

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Giants Log Trail

Giants Log Trail explains the petrification process. The interruptive guide also explains why the logs looks like they’ve been cut. No one actually cut them, they’ve snapped under the pressure of layers of dirt and silica.

Our favorite stop of Giants Log Trail is Old Faithful. Old Faithful is the largest log in the park with a diameter of 10 feet across the base. The impressive log is also 35 feet long and weighs approximately 44 tons! This huge and vibrant log was our family’s favorite.

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Our family loves adventuring to National Parks, of course, Petrified Forest National Park was no exception. You can read more on our park adventures including time at Yellowstone, Glacier and Death Valley National Parks.

Happy Adventuring, Rochelle