When to go
Conditions, crowds, and what each season asks you to pack.
Spring
Highs in the 60s to mid-70s F, breezy and dry with cool mornings.
Pack Layers and a windbreaker, the wind kicks up across open badlands.
Summer
Highs in the 90s F with afternoon monsoon storms in July and August.
Pack Sun hat, plenty of water, and a rain shell for sudden monsoon downpours.
Fall
Highs in the 70s cooling into the 60s F, crisp and stable.
Pack Light layers for warm afternoons and chilly mornings.
Winter
Highs in the 40s to low 50s F, cold nights below freezing, occasional snow dusting.
Pack Warm insulating layers, gloves, and traction for icy trail sections.
Top things to do
Painted Desert Rim Trail
An easy clifftop walk linking historic Painted Desert Inn with sweeping views of banded badlands.
Blue Mesa Trail
A short loop descending into bluish-purple bentonite hills studded with petrified logs.
Crystal Forest Trail
A paved 0.75-mile loop through one of the densest concentrations of colorful petrified wood.
Giant Logs Trail
A quick loop behind the Rainbow Forest Museum featuring Old Faithful, a nearly 10-foot-wide log.
Newspaper Rock
An overlook above a boulder face covered in more than 650 ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs.
Anchor the day around Painted Desert Rim Trail
Put the access rule first: shuttle, parking, timed-entry, or reservation windows should decide the order of the day. For one day in Petrified Forest, make Painted Desert Rim Trail the non-negotiable, add Blue Mesa Trail only if the first stop runs clean, and keep Crystal Forest Trail as the flexible finish.
- 1Start with Painted Desert Rim Trail: An easy clifftop walk linking historic Painted Desert Inn with sweeping views of banded badlands.
- 2Add Blue Mesa Trail: A short loop descending into bluish-purple bentonite hills studded with petrified logs.
- 3Use Crystal Forest Trail as the optional finish, not as a reason to rush the whole day.
Plan your trip
Build one complete pack brief from Petrified Forest's season, activity, and trip length. Fine-tune an individual calculation only if you need it.
Fine-tune water, pack size, warmth, or stove fuel
Build around conditions
Let season, elevation, and weather set the plan.
Plan your trip
2 quick tools, already seeded for Petrified Forest. Tune the numbers around temperature swings, footing, layers, and how much margin the route needs.
What to pack
Start with the gear decisions Petrified Forest changes: water, footing, weather, and overnight needs. The checklist is there once your route and dates are set.
Kit Authority
Petrified Forest packing list
0 of 15 packed. Check items as you pack, then take this list to the store, trailhead, or campsite.
Pack planning
Decide what Petrified Forest asks of your kit before you start checking boxes.
Use this as a constraint check while you are still shaping the trip. The active checklist becomes useful once your route, dates, and sleep plan are set.
- First constraintHydration and exposureWater, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, Navigationmap, downloaded GPS, or a GPS watch, 3 more
- Route realityFooting and tractionHiking boots, Hiking socks, Trekking poles
- Load choicePack and carry systemDaypack
- Season checkLayers for conditionsMoisture-wicking base layers, Rain jacket, Insulated jacket, 1 more
Checklist mode
15 items, grouped for the trip you are actually taking.
- Dates and season are set.
- Primary route, campground, or lodge is chosen.
- Water, footwear, and overnight needs are sized.
One researched pick
The first gear decision for Petrified Forest
Offline maps, photos, and long drives make a high-capacity power bank a practical trip backup.
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THE POWER PICK
Anker 737 PowerCore 24K
- Capacity
- 24,000mAh (86.4Wh)
- Max Output
- 140W (USB-C PD 3.1)
- Ports
- 2× USB-C, 1× USB-A
- Weight
- 1.39 lb (630g)
- Dimensions
- 6.1 × 2.1 × 1.9 in
- Airline Status
- 86.4Wh; below the common 100Wh limit
The Anker 737 combines a printed 86.4Wh rating, up to 140W USB-C PD 3.1 output, three ports, and a real-time smart display. Its capacity sits below the common 100Wh threshold, while airline count, storage, and onboard-use rules still apply.
- Smart digital display shows exact battery percentage, input/output wattage in real time
- 140W PD 3.1 output is fast enough for most laptops at full speed
- At 1.39 lb it is noticeably heavier than phone-only banks, not a featherlight day-trip option
Best for
Travelers who carry a USB-C laptop and want high output, a live power display, and substantial capacity below the common 100Wh threshold.
Gear for Petrified Forest
The buying guides that match what Petrified Forest asks of your kit. Each one has our current top picks across budget and use case.
Where to stay
Stay strategy
Sleep where the first morning stays simple.
Stay strategy
Sleep outside the park and treat the route as a drive-through day.
Petrified Forest has no in-park lodge or developed campground, so the practical bases are Holbrook, Winslow, or a Route 66 road-trip stop. The best plan is usually a north-to-south or south-to-north park traverse with short walks, overlooks, and one or two focused trails.
- Inside lodging
- No in-park lodging
- Developed camping
- No developed campground inside the park
- Main base
- Holbrook for closest hotels and road-trip services
- Backcountry
- Permitted wilderness camping only
Compare base options
Compare each base by the first morning: where you park, what you ride, and how many decisions happen before the trail or viewpoint.
- Best for
- Shortest lodging access, Route 66 services, and an easy early start
- Tradeoff
- It is practical more than scenic.
Planning detail
Holbrook is the default base when Petrified Forest is the main park day. Start early, drive one direction through the park, and save time for Blue Mesa.
- Best for
- Longer Arizona road trips, Route 66 stops, and travelers combining parks
- Tradeoff
- More driving before and after the park.
Planning detail
Use Winslow when the park is one stop in a wider northern Arizona route. Keep the park day structured because services are outside the boundary.
- Best for
- Self-sufficient hikers seeking desert solitude beyond the road corridor
- Tradeoff
- No developed facilities, exposed weather, and water must be carried.
Planning detail
Backcountry camping is the only inside-the-park overnight option. Treat it as a primitive desert permit trip, not a campground substitute.
Drive one way
Plan the park as a north-south traverse instead of doubling back to the same gate.
Protect the resource
Leave every piece of petrified wood where it is, including small fragments.
Camping reservations
Camping reservations
Petrified Forest has no campground at all: your options are a free wilderness backpacking permit or a bed in Holbrook.
There is no RV, car, or frontcountry camping anywhere in the park, and no dispersed camping or overnight parking either. The only way to sleep inside the park is to backpack into the Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area on a free permit issued in person the same day.
Reviewed June 11, 2026
Booking window
Nothing is reservable: wilderness permits are free, issued in person only at either visitor center on the day you hike, and the window closes at 4:30 pm.
- Permits are day-of only and stop being issued at 4:30 pm, so arrive with daylight to spare; each vehicle in your group needs its own permit.
- You must hike at least a half mile from your vehicle into the wilderness area, and there is no water and no shade out there, so carry everything.
- The park gates close every night; pulling off into a parking area or boondocking is not an option.
- For a real campground, look to private campgrounds around Holbrook, Homolovi and Lyman Lake state parks, or the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
Where to book or verify
Official page stating the no-campground policy and listing nearby alternatives.
How the free, in-person, same-day permit works and where to get it.
Check for federal campground, backcountry, tour, and permit inventory tied to this park.
Use this for wilderness permits, timed systems, tours, and other park-specific reservations.
Campgrounds to know
Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area (backpacking only)
Details- Booking
- No advance booking; free permit in person, day-of, until 4:30 pm.
- Season
- Year-round, weather permitting.
- Sites
- No designated sites: hike-in wilderness camping at least a half mile from your vehicle, no water or facilities.
- Camping among the Painted Desert badlands under a dark sky is the payoff; it is the only legal overnight in the park.
Getting there and practical info
Plan the handoff from arrival to shuttle.
Parking, pedestrian entrances, and shuttle timing decide how calmly the first morning starts.
Getting there
Get to Petrified Forest, then remove the first-morning friction.
- Nearest airport
- Flagstaff Pulliam (FLG), about 2 hours west. Most fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), roughly 3.5 hours southwest, or Albuquerque (ABQ), about 3 hours east.
- Access rhythm
- Plan the last mile
- Region
- Arizona
Arrival note
The park straddles Interstate 40 in northeastern Arizona between Holbrook and the New Mexico line.
Shuttle access
The north entrance sits right off I-40 at exit 311 near the Painted Desert Visitor Center; the south entrance is on US Highway 180 near the Rainbow Forest Museum, reached from Holbrook.
Car strategy
A single 28-mile road connects the two, so you can enter at one end and exit the other.
Pair this with lodging: sleep where the park transfer is simple, especially if your route needs an early start.
Can you photograph here? Permit and drone rules
Petrified Forest applies the EXPLORE Act small-group exemption, but its gated day-use hours are the real constraint on golden-hour and night shooting.
- Permit
- Usually fine for personal shoots; commercial or large productions can need a permit
- Drones
- Effectively banned: launching, landing, or operating a drone within park boundaries is prohibited
- Land
- Yes for personal and editorial photography during open hours
From our photography sister site, Aperture Authority. Verified 2026-07-01.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take petrified wood home from the park?
No. Collecting or removing any petrified wood, fossils, rocks, or artifacts from the park is illegal and carries fines. If you want a piece, buy it from one of the licensed shops just outside the park, which sell wood gathered legally from private land. The rule exists because decades of theft stripped countless tons of fossil wood from the landscape.
How much time do you need at Petrified Forest?
Most visitors spend 2 to 4 hours driving the 28-mile road and stopping at overlooks and short trails. A half day lets you walk several of the easy loops like Blue Mesa, Crystal Forest, and Giant Logs. The park closes at night, so it is designed as a day trip rather than an overnight destination.
Is there an entrance fee and do you need a reservation?
Yes, entry is $25 per private vehicle and the pass is good for 7 days. There is no timed-entry or reservation system, so you can simply drive up during operating hours. Note that the park does not accept cash, so bring a credit or debit card.
Are dogs allowed at Petrified Forest?
Yes, Petrified Forest is unusually pet-friendly. Leashed dogs are welcome on all of the park's maintained trails as well as in the wilderness area, which is rare among national parks. Just bring water and avoid the hottest part of summer days, since the open desert offers little shade.
Keep planning
Nearby parks
Grand CanyonA mile-deep, 277-mile gorge carved by the Colorado River, with rim walks for everyone and inner-canyon hikes for the prepared.
SaguaroTwo desert districts flanking Tucson, packed with giant saguaro cactus forests and 165-plus miles of trail.
Mesa VerdeOver 5,000 ancestral Puebloan sites, including cliff dwellings you can climb into on a ranger-led tour.