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Petrified Forest National Park

National Park · AZ

Petrified Forest National Park

16 trails · 33 places · 35 audio stories for the drive

Trails
16
Places
33
Audio stories
35
Wildlife maps
16
Open the park map

Hear the audio tour

Blue Mesa's Banded Hills

Parkwolf’s Petrified Forest ranking

Top sights in Petrified Forest

All 33 places
1SightBlue Mesa OverlookRim-top views of striped badlands, with an optional one-mile walk.2SightGiant LogsClose views of giant petrified logs on a short museum-side loop.3SightCrystal ForestQuartz flashes in the petrified logs along this short paved loop.4SightPainted Desert InnA Pueblo Revival inn with Hopi murals and wide desert views.5SightRainbow Forest MuseumFossils inside, giant logs waiting just outside.6SightKachina PointA broad Painted Desert view from an accessible rim overlook.7SightPuerco PuebloA low-walled pueblo with petroglyphs and a solstice marker.8SightNewspaper RockMore than 650 petroglyphs, best seen slowly through the scopes.9SightJasper Forest OverlookA quick panorama over Jasper Forest’s basin of petrified wood.

Hiking

Top trails in Petrified Forest

All 16 trails
  • 9 easy
  • 5 moderate
  • 2 challenging
EasyBlue Mesa Trail1 mi · 45 minColor-banded badlands and petrified wood on a short, steep loop.EasyCrystal Forest Trail0.9 mi · 30 minA short loop among colorful logs scattered across purple badlands.EasyPainted Desert Rim Trail1 mi · 36 minA short rim walk to layered Painted Desert viewsChallengingBlue Forest Trail1.2 mi · 1.5 hrA rough old trail through blue badlands and exposed petrified wood.EasyGiant Logs Trail0.4 mi · 15 minA quick paved loop past giant logs, with several stair sets.EasyLong Logs and Agate House Trails2.6 mi · 1.5 hrPetrified logs and an ancient pueblo on a 2.6-mile round trip.ModerateOnyx Bridge Hike4 mi · 2.5 hrAn unmarked wash route to a 210-million-year-old petrified conifer.EasyLong Logs Trail1.6 mi · 1.5 hrBright petrified logs beneath gray and purple badlands.
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Petrified Forest Tour Guide

Petrified Forest, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Petrified Forest National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

See the Petrified Forest audio tour

Recorded for this place

Blue Mesa's Banded Hills
0:00 / 0:31
“You're coming up on Blue Mesa, where blue-gray and lavender hills fill the basin below the rim. I'd stop for the overlooks even if you don't want a hike; you can see the colored bands from above.”

Plays as you drive up to Blue Mesa Overlook in the Parkwolf Petrified Forest Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • The Logs’ Clean Breaks
  • The Tepees Roadside Views
  • Ravens at Play
  • Blue Mesa’s Restless Clay
  • 35 audio storiesacross Petrified Forest’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Pronghorn, Mule Deer, Coyote, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 16 trails, 33 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
★★★★★
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
JMJamesApp Store review
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Map

The whole park, on one map

Open the full map
Loading the Petrified Forest map
Full map
Official Petrified Forest park map (PDF)Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your visit

Before you go

2 active Petrified Forest alerts

  • ClosurePainted Desert Visitor Center closed for constructionThe Painted Desert Visitor Center is closed for construction; visitor-center operations are at the Painted Desert Inn, two miles past the north entrance station.Official details
  • ClosureAgate House closed to visitorsAgate House is closed to the public because of physical safety concerns; stay at least 15 feet from the structure. - The closure remains in effect until terminated in writing by the park.Official details
Petrified Forest alerts

Wildlife

Wildlife in Petrified Forest

All Petrified Forest wildlife maps
Pronghorn185 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapMule Deer172 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapCoyote100 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapWapiti33 sightingsWapitiMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapGunnison's Prairie Dog35 sightingsGunnison's Prairie DogMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapPorcupine56 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Petrified Forest. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Take Parkwolf to Petrified Forest.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

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