Petrified Forest National Park makes an easy and rewarding day trip from Phoenix. In one day you can see the colorful badlands of the Painted Desert, ancient petroglyphs, the blue and purple hills of Blue Mesa, and giant logs of 225-million-year-old petrified wood. Here’s how to get there from Phoenix, the stops we loved, and what to know before you go. Still deciding whether to go? Read Is Petrified Forest National Park Worth the Visit? Updated October 2026 with current fees, hours, and directions.
Dog Friendly: Yes, but must be leashed.
Fee: Yes. $25 per vehicle, good for 7 days. Card only, no cash. America the Beautiful passes are accepted.
Hours: 8 am to 5 pm year-round (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas).
Restrooms at trailhead: Not all of them, but there is restrooms at the visitors centers.
Phoenix to Petrified Forest: Drive Time & Route
Petrified Forest National Park is about 3.5 to 4 hours from Phoenix, depending on which route you take. The park is in northeastern Arizona along I-40, near the town of Holbrook.
- Via Payson and Holbrook (about 215 miles): This is the route we took. Head northeast on the Beeline Highway (SR-87) through Payson, then follow SR-260, SR-377, and US-180 to the park’s south entrance. It’s the shortest drive and very scenic through the Mogollon Rim country.
- Via Flagstaff and I-40 (about 259 miles): Take I-17 north to Flagstaff, then I-40 east to Exit 311 for the north entrance. It’s a bit longer but almost all interstate.
Which Entrance Should You Use?
The park has two entrances connected by a 28-mile scenic road, so you can drive straight through in one direction. The north entrance is at I-40 Exit 311 (Painted Desert side), and the south entrance is 19 miles south of Holbrook on US-180 (Rainbow Forest side). A great day trip loop from Phoenix: drive up through Payson, enter the south entrance, drive north through the park, and take I-40 home through Flagstaff, or do it in reverse.
Trip Tip: The park recommends bringing a paper map, since GPS can send you down backroads with locked gates.
Things to Do in Petrified Forest National Park
Here are the stops we made, listed from north to south along the park road.
The Painted Desert Inn
The park itself is huge. Once you get off the exit for the park you drive down the road and you will come across the Petrified Forest National Park sign. We stopped and took a picture with it. Once you drive past the sign you will come across the visitors center. We stopped here to go to the restroom and because we wanted to explore the visitors center. I like to send my family post cards from all of my trips, so I grabbed some post cards and then we had a ranger explain what we can do throughout the park.
We started at the North end of the park, which has the painted desert. The ranger recommended us to stop at a look out, but to not stop at every single one of them even though it is tempting to (it was). We stopped at Tawa Point first. We got out of the car and snapped some photos and then continued North because we knew we wanted to stop at the Painted Desert Inn National History Landmark (the inn itself was closed when we visited) because the ranger told us we could hike down into the desert from there.
We went to Kachina Point first and we could see the switchbacks that take you down into the desert. We continued over to the trail to hike down. This trailhead is called Tawa Trail but it is actually called the Onyx Bridge that takes you down into the desert. You can hike all the way to the Onyx Bridge. It is 4 miles roundtrip, but we didn’t do that. If we had more time we would have, but we had so much more of the park to see. So we hiked down into the desert, explored a little and hiked back up. We did almost 2 miles. It was breathtaking!
The only way you can see Petrified Wood on the Painted Desert side is if you hike down to it. So we were able to see some of the Petrified Wood, which was really incredible! The colors of the Painted Desert are magnificent. It is a beautiful red throughout. The Painted Desert is red because it was exposed to oxygen, which makes it the red color it is.
Newspaper Rock
We quickly stopped here before we went to Blue Mesa. This was pretty cool. It was hard to get a good photo of it on just iPhone, but we luckily brought our nice camera! This area has over 650 petroglyphs covering a group of rock faces. The petroglyphs were created by ancestral Puebloan people between 650 and 2,000 years ago. How incredible!
Blue Mesa Trail
It’s hard to believe this is the same National Park as the Painted Desert. Just because how different the landscape is. You go from deep reds in the Painted Desert to grays, blues, and lavenders in Blue Mesa Trail. This is a 3.5 mile loop trail that takes you down into the badlands. You will also come across some petrified wood here as well. To say this was beautiful is an understatement. Pictures and videos don’t do this place justice. The colors are grays, blues, and lavenders because of the lack of oxygen this area got, compared to the painted desert where it is deep reds. This is a MUST DO if you decide to go to this National Park.
Crystal Forest
Last but definitely not least was Crystal Forest. This is one of the most southern places to see in the park, which makes it easy to leave. We left through the south entrance to US 180 West to Holbrook. This was a .75 mile easy loop that took you through INCREDIBLE petrified wood. While you get to see petrified wood throughout the other trails in the park, it is unlike any other at Crystal Forest. This petrified wood showcases the beautiful crystals that can be found in the wood. 225 million years ago 200-foot conifer trees dominated a tropical lowland. Time, climate, and geologic forces buried the trees in layers of mud and volcanic ash. This left enormous fossilized remains for visitors of the modern age. Crystal Forest has unusually high concentrations of additional crystals. There are pockets of these trees that became filled with deposits that eventually turned into quartz and amethyst crystals.
Onyx Bridge Trail
On a different trip, we went back and hiked the Onyx Bridge trail into the Painted Desert. It starts right behind the Painted Desert Inn: look for the steps to the left of the display signs. Switchbacks drop about 300 feet to the desert floor, and from there it’s an unmarked wilderness route of roughly 4 miles round trip to Onyx Bridge, a petrified log that spans a small wash. Along the way you pass scattered petrified logs against the red and pink hills of the Painted Desert.
Trip Tip: Watch your footing on the loose pebbles on the switchbacks, and bring a map or GPS since there’s no maintained trail once you reach the bottom.
Know Before You Go
- Entrance fee: $25 per vehicle, $20 per motorcycle, or $15 per person on foot or bike, good for 7 days. The park does not accept cash. A park annual pass is $45.
- Hours: The park road and visitor centers are open 8 am to 5 pm year-round. The Painted Desert Inn is open 9 am to 4 pm.
- Don’t take any petrified wood. Removing wood or rocks from the park is illegal. If you want a souvenir, buy wood collected outside the park from shops in Holbrook or at the gift stores near the entrances.
- Dogs are welcome on park trails as long as they’re leashed.
- Bring water and sun protection. There’s very little shade, and summer afternoons get hot.
Petrified Forest National Park FAQ
How far is Petrified Forest National Park from Phoenix?
About 215 miles (roughly 3.5 hours) via Payson and Holbrook, or about 259 miles (roughly 4 hours) via Flagstaff and I-40.
Can you do Petrified Forest as a day trip from Phoenix?
Yes. It’s a long day with 7 to 8 hours of driving round trip, but you can see the main stops in 3 to 4 hours inside the park. Leave early so you arrive when the park opens at 8 am.
How long does it take to drive through Petrified Forest?
The park road is 28 miles long. Driving straight through takes under an hour, but plan on 3 to 4 hours to stop at the viewpoints and walk a few short trails.
Is the Painted Desert part of Petrified Forest National Park?
Yes. The northern part of the park covers the Painted Desert, and the southern part is where most of the petrified wood is.
Can you take petrified wood from the park?
No. It’s illegal to remove any petrified wood from the park, even small pieces. You can buy legally collected wood from shops outside the park.
