Petrified Forest National Park

How do you follow up the Grand Canyon? Lets be honest, Petrified Forest NP is in a tough spot. But, it is there to see, so we had to see what it had to offer! Lets just say, it is not the Grand Canyon, but it has some charms.

We read about this park (as we do with all parks) before we got there, and really struggled with how to give this park a fair chance. There really aren't a lot of things that we felt we could get excited about based on what we have just passed through in Utah and northern Arizona. But we decided that the scenic drive and Crystal Forest Hike (awesome name for this hike) were the best way for us to experience what the park has to offer. Also, we discovered that the park closes at 5:00, and we arrived around 4:00, so our time in the park was short.

The scenic drive was, well, if you had not been to any NP before, it would have been fantastic! But we had just left the Grand Canyon, and it really paled in comparison. It had some features that looked like Badlands in SD, but all smaller and less impressive. It had some cliffs and hills, but compared to the GC, they were nothing. They are still scenic, but on a very reduced scale.

As we got closer to the Crystal Forest we started to see chunks of Petrified Wood along the side of the road. We pulled off at the trailhead and began our exploration of petrification. Turns out the name Crystal Forest is beautifully accurate for what we found here. The trail meanders through hundreds (if not thousands) of petrified trees that are now crystalline and colorful. The petrified wood is very brittle and as the trees are uncovered, tend to break off at fairly regular intervals that resemble log rounds. One tree almost looked like a chainsaw had been used on it before petrification had begun... however, as far as we can tell there were no chainsaws around back then.

The amazing colors found in the crystals of the petrified wood was the most interesting feature of this experience. We saw everything from bright yellows to deep reds and dark blueish grays within the frozen trees. There were also spritzes of brilliant green where lichen had started to grow on a few of the logs! Definitely beautiful and interesting to experience. With our tour of the Crystal Forest complete, and our time running out we headed for the park exit.

Personnel:

The ranger at the entrance gate gave us a map and gave us good information on how to make sure we didn't get stuck in the park after closing. He was businesslike but friendly.

Climate/weather:

It was cold and very windy here. We both had on several layers, and wouldn't have minded several more! Our hands and faces especially were hit hard by the wind.

Facilities/signage:

The VC here felt like an old elementary school that had been repurposed. Even the restrooms felt that way. They did have all the necessary requirements for a comfortable "rest" experience. The entrance sign had a parking lot (which was odd since it seems like not many people go here) and was quite large. The signs inside the park were appropriately placed (there is only 1 road, hard to mess that up) and the trail signs were good as well.

Hiking experience:

It was a short and sweet experience. We were satisfied with what we saw, but it was cold and we felt no need to linger. The Crystal Forest pieces themselves were unique and worth the time we spent investigating them.

Driving experience:

You can see most everything this park has to offer from the road (as far as we can tell) which is cool but not amazing. There are views of the painted desert area, some petrified logs as you go by, and surrounding mountains, but except for the petrified forest none of those are extraordinary.

Camping options:

There are no campsites, but backcountry permits are free from the visitor's center.

Hammockability:

We didn't see any trees that could support hammocks. Well, no living non-rock trees anyway...

Scenery:

It was pleasant, but compared to what we just went through, it was cute.

Nearby food:

There are some tourist shops just south of the park, and the town of Holbrook is about half an hour away.

If we had to describe this park in one word, it would be "neat". Not neat-o... just neat. The petrified wood is worth checking out if you are driving by on Interstate 40 (our historic Route 66!). Having seen it once, we would not go out of our way to see it again.

Next stop: Saguaro National Park!