Hiking the Pertified Forest
Written: Mar 10 '04
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Pros: Few tourists; very unique sights.
Cons: Lack of facilities; can be seen in a single day.
The Bottom Line: The Petrified Forest offers unique sights and some solitude.
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| NetDanzr's Full Review: Petrified Forest National Park |
The Petrified Forest National Park is largely overshadowed by its more picturesque neighbors, especially the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. This may be to your advantage if you look for a more relaxed environment and a little solitude, and even though the park doesn’t offer any strenuous hikes, you’ll really appreciate the lack of tourists. In the following paragraphs, I’ll describe all the available hikes, most of which are just short and easy walks on asphalt sidewalks, but which would allow you to experience the park from up close and personal. Before I do so, however, let me say a few words about the park itself.
The Petrified Forest National Park is more like two parks in one. The north side features terrain that closely resembles that of the Badlands in South Dakota, while the southern part offers the vast majority of the petrified trees. The whole park features one 28 miles-long road, with several pull-offs offering scenic views and several short hikes. You can access the park either from the south, through Route 180 from Holbrook, or from the north through I-40. Both ends of the park offer a small shop, and the south end also has a small museum. The entrance fee is $10, but if you are combining your trip with visiting the Grand Canyon and other National Park, you may consider purchasing the National Parks Pass, which costs $50 and offers free entry to all national parks for a year. Please be aware that removing rocks and petrified wood yields huge fines, which are not worth the trouble, considering the obscene amounts of petrified wood you can buy cheaply in Holbrook. Now to the hikes:
Rim Trail
Assuming you entered through the northern entrance, this is the first trail you can take. Start at the Tawa Point and walk along the rim to Kachina Point. The trail is relatively flat, 0.6 miles long each direction, and the footing is good, on gravel. The main features are descriptions of all the plants you will likely to see in the park, as well as several spectacular views of the painted desert, which are worth a roll of film especially early in the morning.
Wilderness Area Trail
This is the only moderate trail in the park, but fully worth it. In fact, if you have to take only one trail, this is it. The trailhead is at the Kachina Point, so if you already walked there, just go on. If you didn’t, drive there and take the trail, which starts behind the inn. The trail traverses the canyon wall down to the basin, where you can freely explore the Arizona desert from up close and personal. If you want to camp overnight, you need to get a free permit from the ranger office; otherwise you just walk down. You can spend hours here, always finding something new. For example, there is a couple of petrified trees very close to the end of the trail, and just five minutes walking into the desert will reward you with native wildlife, most commonly rabbits, but also snakes and the occasional salamanders. The downside of this hike is that the way back may be strenuous for inexperienced hikers.
Puerco Pueblo
This is a very short walk on asphalt sidewalks, which will lead you through pueblo ruins and offer a view of a few impressive rock paintings (for more of them, head to the Newspaper Rock next). Unfortunately, the most interesting feature I found here were the restrooms, which were the only open restrooms in the park, other than those on both ends.
Blue Mesa
This is another spectacular hike, which will dump you down to the desert basin, and you’ll explore and enjoy some of the most colorful badlands formations available. The trail descends steeply before leveling off, and then offers a nice interpretive loop, worth another roll of film. However, when you feel like taking a picture of the entire valley (when you reach the farthest point of the trail), hold back and instead drive to the next pull-off once you return to your car. This would result into a much better picture.
Crystal Forest
This is another easy trail on asphalt roads, and this will be your first exposure to large quantities of petrified wood. This area is especially nice after rain or when the sun is on the horizon, when all the colors are saturated. When you reach the first left turn, stop and look back towards the parking lot. From this position, the large hill across the road is very impressive, especially before noon.
Long Logs and Agate House
These are two hikes, which together offer the longest walk in the park. Both are on asphalt sidewalks with very little elevation change. Park at the southern gift shop parking lot and walk back across the bridge, following the trail signs. After walking on a brand new asphalt sidewalk, which looks more like an access road, keep to the right trailhead. On the next crossroads, keep right and within ten to fifteen minutes you’ll get to the Agate House. This is a partial reconstruction of a pueblo, built entirely from petrified wood, and chances are that you’ll be all alone here, enjoying the vast expanse and the bitter wind.
As you return to the crossroads, turn right and then right again. This will lead you to the Long Logs circular trail, which is improperly marked as a linear trail in the park map. This trail will lead you through the largest concentration of petrified wood in the park, and by the time you’re done you wouldn’t want to see more petrified wood for the rest of your life.
Giant Logs
This easy walk begins at the back of the park museum. The museum itself is rather small, and will interest only people who want to see some dinosaur bones or learn something about polishing petrified wood. However, it’s a good idea to pick up a trail guide here, as this interpretive trail doesn’t have information tables, but only small signs with numbers, referring to the trail guide.
Assuming you take only half an hour in the wilderness area, the whole park offers around 8 miles of hiking, most of it on very easy terrain. Still, due to its size and other things to see, you can spend a whole day here. It is unfortunate that the park offers food facilities only on both ends and not in the middle, so bringing some lunch with you is advisable. Still, for those who are truly interested in geology and archeology, as well as for those who just want a new, unique experience, a day in this park would not be wasted.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: December-February
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Hiking & Trails
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NetDanzr
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Location: Chatham, NJ
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