Jasper Forest Hike

Jasper Forest Hike is a 2.5-mile out-and-back from Jasper Forest Overlook into a dense field of petrified wood, following a fading 1930s roadbed to a small basin near the former Eagle’s Nest Rock. Allow about 1.5–2 hours. The distance is modest, but the road is unmarked and has eroded away in places; this is for hikers comfortable finding their way across open badlands, not a signed stroll. If you want a shorter developed walk among petrified wood, the 0.75-mile Crystal Forest loop is an easier alternative.

Park at the overlook. The unmarked start is near the far end of the lot, where a faint path drops into a small drainage. Farther down, look for the old roadbed as it descends the rim. It curves past a bluff, crosses dry washes and follows the drainages toward a basin tucked against the rim. Occasional asphalt fragments and small sandstone culvert abutments are clues that you are still on the old line. The roadbed circles a low Chinle hill at the far end; return by the same route. Bring the park’s route guide and do not improvise a new line when the tread fades.

Below the bluff, petrified logs lie among colorful chips of fossil wood. Some sit on little pedestals: the log shelters the soil beneath it while the surrounding ground erodes away. A log on one of these pedestals makes a distinctive close-up against the banded badlands. Leave every piece where it lies; even the small fragments are protected park resources.

The area was called First Forest by early visitors arriving by wagon from Adamana’s train station; it was the first petrified-wood deposit they encountered. A road was later built through Jasper Forest for car trips to Eagle’s Nest Rock, once a solitary hoodoo in the colorful badlands. Its upper part fell in 1941. The hike now follows that eroding road toward the remaining hill, not an intact hoodoo.

Ask for the off-the-beaten-path route guide at a visitor center, and carry water in warm weather. Dogs are allowed on a leash no longer than six feet. Wet bentonite clay becomes slick and sticky, and rain can make the washes harder to cross, so choose a dry day if you are unsure about footing or navigation.