Description
A landscape where deep time lies fully on display, Petrified Forest National Park blends colorful badlands, vast grasslands, and one of the world’s largest and most vivid collections of petrified wood. Spanning more than 200 million years of geologic history, the park protects ancient fossils, ancestral Puebloan sites, habitat for desert animals, and a sweeping stretch of historic Route 66.
Need to Know
Petrified Forest National Park is a semi-arid grassland. Temperatures range from above 100° F (38° C) to well below freezing. About 10 inches (25.4 cm) of moisture comes during infrequent snow in the winter and often dramatic summer thunder-storms. Animals and plants are adapted to extremes in temperature and moisture. You should be ready too. Check out the forecast before you arrive and plan accordingly.
Maps and Navigation
Petrified Forest stretches north/south between I-40 and Hwy 180. There are two entrances into the park.*** ***WESTBOUND I-40***Travelers should take Exit 311, drive 28 miles through the park to Hwy 180 at the south end. Travel 19 miles to return to I-40 via Holbrook.*** ***EASTBOUND I-40***Travelers should take Exit 285 into Holbrook then travel 19 miles on Hwy 180 to the park’s south entrance. Drive 28 miles north through the park to return to I-40.
