Review of Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona: Awesome scenery and awesome hikes!

 

Blue Mesa Trail, Petrified Forest National Park, AZ

I first encountered the words ‘petrified forest’ from one of my best friends while growing up.  My friend’s family had taken a cross country trip going from New York City to the west coast, and along the way, they had visited the Petrified Forest National Park, among others.

The two words fascinated my young self, so I looked up the meaning in a dictionary (*for anyone younger than 30, a dictionary was typically used to look up words, like what we now do using a Google search).  I found out the word petrified is the process by which an organic material becomes fossilized (or turns to stone) when it gets replaced with minerals.  

I had always wanted to visit this magical place full of petrified wood, and my chance finally came in December 2022 when we went on our own cross country road trip going from North Carolina to California.  Looking at the highway system in the south and southwest, it made perfect sense to get on the I-40 as a major route going through Arizona.  

After we had checked out of our hotel in Albuquerque the morning of December 23rd, we headed west along I-40, hoping to get to Petrified Forest National Park before 2 p.m., so we can do some hiking.  After driving on the I-40 for about 2 hours, we started seeing signs for a Native American owned (Navajo) rest area with a store, restrooms, and a taco stand.  We couldn’t possibly resist that!

Ortega Indian City Arts, Houck, AZ

Chee’s, right next door

It took another 30 minutes before we arrived at the Ortega Indian City Arts, and we parked our car right near the entrance to the store.  Inside, we saw local Navajo themed arts and crafts, as well as plenty of souvenirs. My wife purchased some notepads as we always were looking for blank paper to write down things on. 

After making a pit stop at the restroom, we saw the taco stand.  We were hesitating whether to buy tacos or not, when we saw a father and his son eating tacos and an ice cream.  The father mentioned the tacos were 99 cents which piqued my interest, but what sealed the deal was that his son was enjoying them.

We ordered three tacos and a bean burrito.  It was really affordable at around $8 including a 20 ounce Diet Coke, and more importantly, they all tasted really good!  We couldn’t believe the quality of these foods and the unbelievable affordability on top of that.  My kind of a place for sure!

Ortega’s Tacos stand

After finishing our tacos and burrito, we walked over to the fry bread stand, right next to Chee’s.  We had never tried one, and it was as good of a time as any, right there in Navajo country!  We ordered two fry breads: one with powdered sugar and one without.

Total bill was a very reasonable $7.  We took a small bite of our fry breads, and knew instantly that we would love it.  It tasted like a funnel cake, something you would buy at Disney World or at any number of state fairs.  We felt like little kids on a trip to Disney World, and we savored every bite of the fry bread while sitting at a picnic table right next to the fry bread stand.  

Powdered sugar fry bread

Plain fry bread

After feeling incredibly full after lunch followed by decadent dessert, we headed out to Petrified Forest National Park, about 40 minutes away.  The exit for the park was super easy to find, as signs were really clear.

We got off the exit and made a stop at the Painted Desert Visitor Center.  After checking in with a park ranger for any trail closures and for road conditions, we headed for the entrance station on Park Road.  As we were showing the ranger at the entrance station our America the Beautiful Pass for free entry, we again patted ourselves on the back for buying this pass several months back.  

We saved a cool $25 entrance fee at the park, which means we had made back our $80 fee we had paid to buy the pass at Acadia National Park.  The pass is an absolute steal if you’re planning on visiting more than 3 national parks on the southwest/west coast, within a year.  The pass will more than likely save you money after 3 visits, with entrance fees reaching $35 at many places…

After passing the entrance station, we stopped at one of the first stopovers on Park Road to view the desert below.  Our mouths were open from the sight!  There was still snow on certain parts of the desert below, and the colors of the rocks were incredible, with deep reds, oranges, grey, green, and burgundies.  Wow!!!

It had been awhile since we looked at a scenery like this, and we welcomed it.  We knew the scenery like the ones above, is only possible on the southwest/west coast.  We absolutely cherished these moments, just viewing the incredibly beautiful colors created by Mother Nature and breathing in the fresh and cool air of an Arizona desert in December…

We knew we only had another 3 hours or so before the sunset, so we got a move on.  Our next destination:  Painted Desert Rim Trail.

Painted Desert Rim Trail is a 1 mile round trip trail that winds through rim woodland.  We parked at the trailhead, then walked down to the desert floor.  There was snow and sleet covering major parts of the trail heading down, so we took our time with each step.  The landscape was breathtaking and the white snow covering parts of the trail made for a magical experience.  

Painted Desert Rim Trail, Petrified Forest National Park 

Parking lot/trailhead/restroom

By the time we got down to the bottom of the desert, it got eerily quiet and hot.  The sun, even in December, was hot in Arizona!  We were glad we made the trip in winter and not summer!

View from the bottom (desert floor) looking up

We chugged some water feeling the heat, then enjoyed the quiet solitude of the desert floor.  We heard no humans speaking, nor cars driving by.  All we heard were the breezes coming through the desert floor, and the occasional bird calls.  It was the kind of quiet we hadn’t experienced in some time…

After reaching the opening to the desert floor with panoramic and expansive views at the bottom of the trail, we decided to head back up the trail, as we still had one more trail to hike.  It would be after 3 o’clock by the time we finished our hike of Painted Desert Rim Trail, thanks to the slow descent to the bottom of the desert floor, then just as slow ascent back up the trailhead.  

Our next stop would be the Blue Mesa Trail, about a 10 minute drive along Park Road going south.  We pulled in to park along the road like most hikers, then got out to survey the area.  Wow, what a scenery.  It was reminiscent of any number of science fiction movies I had watched with scenery that is out of this world!

It didn’t feel like we were on Planet Earth, but rather some alien planet with alien beings roaming the landscape.  We took the trail that lay just in front of us, then started our walk on the Blue Mesa Trail.  

The trail was gravel/sand mix but relatively flat and easy.  We looked around as we hiked, taking in the tremendous views surrounding us.  We were so happy and blessed we were experiencing this incredible scenery.

Start of the Blue Mesa Trail, Petrified Forest National Park 

As we got to about the half way point of the trail, we noticed the trail ascended towards the top of the mesas.  We were actually excited to be going up, as that would guarantee an amazing view!

We hiked up on loose gravel-type surface covered with the occasional snow.  It wasn’t bad to hike up, as traction was still relatively good.  We were watching our steps regardless, as we didn’t want to slide down those mesas, even if the drop would only be around 20/30 feet.  

We always joke that we might break a leg (or two), but that we would probably live under these circumstances.  However, we definitely didn’t want to find out…

As we made it to the top of the mesas, the views really opened up.  We saw distant mountains, surrounding mesas all illuminated in golden glow thanks to the setting Sun, and we saw the crystal clear blue skies.  Wow…

As we descended from the top of the mesas, the setting Sun really lit up the surrounding landscape.  It was truly the ‘golden hour’, loved by photographers the world over.  We couldn’t disagree after experiencing it that day…

Right before sunset

Golden hour!

The scenery we experienced can’t possibly be explained via words or photos.  The scale of the landscape is so big and imposing and the mesas are so otherworldly that it’s just something you’ll need to experience first hand.  We’re so grateful we got to hike this trail (and one other trail) to truly experience this park…

In conclusion:

Petrified Forest National Park was exactly what I had imagined but more.  Whereas my best friend did all the usual overlooks from a distance, by hiking the two trails, we really got to experience how this park was meant to be experienced.

In the past, we would’ve done exactly that, driving around the scenic road and taking photos from afar.  We again want to thank our Pomeranian Toby for instilling in us the love for nature and the love for hiking.  Thanks bud!

We highly recommend visiting this fantastic national park to experience the place yourself.  There are just so many things we absolutely loved about the park: the incredible scenery, the total silence of the desert floor, and the great hiking trails.  

Thank you all for reading and keep up with us on our continuing journey to California on our epic cross country road trip!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Ocean City, Maryland’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Bushkill Falls and Grey Towers.’

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 natural attractions in Las Vegas’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Zion National Park’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Vdara Hotel’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Chateau at Coindre Hall’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Oyster Bay’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Ocean Casino Resort’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Wildwood Park and Fort Hunter Mansion’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Ottawa’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Fiore Suite and classic room at the Borgata’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 places with awesome views near Harrisburg, PA’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Quebec City, Canada’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 quintessential places to visit in New York City’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Ricketts Glen State Park, PA’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Beaufort, NC’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Vernon, NJ’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Harrisburg, PA’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Montreal, Canada’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Falls Lake Dam Recreation Area, Wake Forest, NC’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 parks to visit in Bogue Banks, North Carolina’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Niagara Falls State Park’.

Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Claysburg, PA’.

Please check out our YouTube channel ‘Wandering Money Pig’ showcasing our travels and our Pomeranian dog! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3kl9f4W9sfNG5h1l-x6nHw