Petrified Forest - North

Petrified Forest - North is a remote fossil-wood valley in the park’s South Unit, with upright petrified trunks among badlands slopes. Reaching it takes a rough three-mile round trip from the parking area, so save it for a day when you want the hike as much as the trees. The route is unpaved and uneven, with a steep clay hill, loose footing and almost no shade. Bentonite gets very slippery when wet; skip the walk if the ground is slick. Carry at least one liter of water per person per hour.

The trail crosses uneven ground for about half a mile, climbs a steep bentonite hill, then forks across rolling prairie. The northern branch runs over open ground with occasional bison wallows before dropping into a valley of upright stumps, concretions and cracked earth. Some trunks rise more than six feet. The north concentration has slightly more stumps than the southern one; the south has the more dramatic southeast views.

A large ridged stump makes a natural foreground for a photo. Keep some of the valley behind it so the surrounding badlands give the fossil wood a sense of scale.

Around 65 million years ago, soon after the dinosaurs disappeared, this area was a swampy delta. Sequoia, bald cypress and magnolia grew here. A crocodile-like Champsosaurus gigas, turtles, snails and clams also lived in that ancient landscape.

Sediment buried the trees, and mineral-rich groundwater gradually replaced their organic material. Later erosion stripped away softer layers and exposed the petrified wood in the badlands. The fossil trunks are still scattered through the valley where the forest once stood, which makes the north fork a closer look at the park’s ancient landscape than a quick roadside view.