Route 66 - Part 3 - Petrified Forest & Painted Desert National Park
I gotta be honest with you, I thought the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert were separate places…two different National Parks. So, I was surprised to be driving and then realize they are combined. And even more surprised to find out that the Painted Desert isn’t a National Park at all, instead it is part of the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Can you tell this was my first visit here? My mom had been here before with my dad 23 years ago, but for me, it was all new!
Most of the Painted Desert is located in remote areas of the Navajo Nation. However, you can easily access a portion within the Northern section of the Petrified Forest National Park. This can be done on the Main Park Road loop that goes from the Visitors Center to I-40. You can enter the park at either end. We began our journey at the Visitors Center on the North end. We arrived at the park from Grants, New Mexico mostly via I40 with a little sightseeing along Route 66. Our first stop was to get a picture at the National Park Sign.
This being our first National Park stop on our trip I needed to find out where to get my Annual Season Pass for the National Parks and pick up a couple of things at the gift shop. The Visitors Center let me know passes are purchased at the entry gate. All new to me coming from the land of the Great Smoky Mountains NP where our park is free. You can purchase your pass ahead of time online, but I was worried we would not have it in time for our trip, so I choose to wait and purchase it in person at our first park.
We did a little shopping in the gift shop. Not sure why I did not take any pictures here. That is pretty weird for me. I mean, I take pictures of everything…I am a documenter. I know I was feeling a little icky at this point, so I guess I just did not think about it. But the Visitors Center and the gift shop are very nice with plenty of great souvenir items. They have lots of pieces (small and large) of petrified wood. I found postcards for my little buddy Granger, NP collector pins for me, and a piece of petrified wood for my hubby! There is also a gas station (a bit high, but to be expected), nice restrooms, a convenience store, and a restaurant. This is all at the North Entrance.
Being from the Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, a fee is not something we pay to enter our park. But I totally understand why a fee is needed. I am certainly ok to pay a bit to help preserve our treasures. This trip was planned for May 2023. My husband and I have a trip planned for September 2023 that will also require fees as we head to Yellowstone and a few others in that area. It is a smart move to go ahead and purchase your pass if planning several parks. Most parks seem to be $20 to $35 per personal vehicle. Three visits and your pass has paid for itself, and you begin saving money after that. For the most up-to-date information on this park please visit the Petrified Forest. This NP is $25 per personal vehicle. That does include the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert.
As you begin your drive from the North Entrance you immediately see gorgeous desert colors. Reds, browns, whites, and tans of the earth spotted with various shades of green vegetation all set to the deep blue sky make for such visually pleasing sights. Not only will you see those traditional desert shades, but also travel among many shades of gray and blue.
We spent about 2.5 hours here including our stop at the Visitors Center. The road is 28 miles from one end to the other. We did get out a few times but did not do any walks or hikes. This was a very leisurely pace with no rushing and stopping to take pictures often. I would recommend allowing 3 hours here if you are just driving and not planning hikes. If you finish early, then you are ahead of schedule. Certainly, if you want to hike or walk around you could spend an entire day here easily. The places we stopped were very accessible for anyone with mobility issues or in a wheelchair.
There are many opportunities to pull off and take pictures right alongside the road. We were not hiking, but there appears to be a good selection of trails for those interested. The drive allows for beautiful views if you are not able to hit the paths on foot.
The Painted Desert is exactly what you get here. At times you have an amazing mixture of colors, then you will see areas that are very monochrome with multiple shades of gray. And before you know it the colors have changed again with areas that had shadings reminding me of candy corn along Chinde Point. This is a location you can find restrooms and a picnic area as well.
The Painted Desert Inn still stands. It is almost 100 years old. The original building was made of petrified wood in the 1920s but was renovated in the 1930s with an adobe facade. It no longer offers lodging or food but is now a museum. Displays inside highlight the building's history, Route 66, and the Civilian Conservation Corps. There are also restored murals by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie. We did not go in because we did not realize it was now a museum. We thought it was still for lodging, so we missed out on that. I would imagine it is worth a visit.
Along the road, you will come across something many might consider odd unless you know the history of Route 66. Within the national park is the Highway of Dreams Marker. At this location, you are standing where the Mother Road (Route 66) used to be. If you look around, you will see old telephone poles. These are paralleling the alignment of the road. This portion of Route 66 was open from 1926 until 1958. At the marker, you will find a 1932 Studebaker and a bench made out of an old bumper. Here you will also see cars buzzing by on I40.
Traveling North to South you begin with the astonishing colors of the painted desert and transition to the more concentrated Petrified Forest area. The Crystal Forest is a great place to see these trees close up. Please remember, as with any National Park, to take nothing and leave nothing. There are pieces of petrified wood you can buy in the gift shop at the Visitors Center. We passed another gift shop at the south end but did not go in. I would say it is a sure bet you can purchase pieces there as well.
I understood the basics about petrified wood but wanted a bit more detail, so I dug a bit deeper when I got home. The most famous locality for observing petrified wood is Petrified Forest National Park. About 225 million years ago, this area was a lowland with a tropical climate and was covered by a dense forest. Looking at it today makes that really hard to believe I know. Tropical storms flooded rivers in this area washing mud and other sediments into the lowlands. Trees were buried by all of this river sediment. There were also multiple volcano eruptions that added volcanic ash.
Rapid burial of the trees allowed them to escape destruction from oxygen and insects. The soluble ash was dissolved by groundwater flowing through the sediments. The dissolved ash served as a source of silica that replaced the plant debris, creating petrified wood. Trace amounts of iron, manganese, and other minerals were included in the silica and gave the petrified wood a variety of colors. Because petrified wood is harder and more resistant instead of eroding away, the wood accumulated on the ground surface as the surrounding mud rocks and ash layers were eroded. That is why areas of the Park are covered with a litter of petrified wood trunks, branches, and fragments. If you are interested in learning even more check this link out.
Ending on the south end of the park there is another chance for gifts, petrified wood, and restrooms. We did not stop, but I am sure there is a lot to see here. We wanted to move on down the road at this point but did manage to snap a few pics from the parking lot.
Summing it up…I am very glad I visited. It is not the most thrilling National Park, nor the most scenic, but the landscape is different than others with the added uniqueness of the petrified wood. You go from looking off smaller rims to driving among some nice canyon areas. The color changes are astounding as you drive the nice, paved road. Bathrooms are never too far away. Food and gas are there if needed. And not as busy as some of the other National Parks. Remember I come from the Great Smoky Mountains. The slow pace here was a nice change!
Things to know about our trip and the way we traveled. My mom uses a walker and I also have some mobility issues. So hiking is out and limited walking would be happening. Easy access was required for all we did. Things we saw or did would be accessible for anyone with mobility issues, using a walker/cane, or in a wheelchair. Many pictures were made from the car or very nearby the car. Anyone, with any ability, can make this trip and enjoy it immensely. If bathroom breaks are a frequent need that could be an issue in some areas, and I will make notes in all my posts about that.
I hope you will follow me on all my social media pages. On YouTube, I share beautiful videos of our trips with commentary on many. Instagram and TikTok I share quick fun clips of each individual place. And on Facebook, you can find complete photo albums of our trips allowing you to see much more than I can post here. Substack is the only place you will find complete details and itineraries. These will be available for a fee once all segments are posted.