Petrified Forest National Park
Day Nine - Best of the Southwest - 2023
A quick stop at Meteor Crater before an afternoon exploring Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert.
1. Meteor Crater
(Click here to view a full-size version of this panorama.)
Crated about 50,000 years ago, Meteor Crater, or Barringer’s Crater, was formed when a 160-foot / 50-meter nickel-iron meteorite impacted; it is the site which also proved the existence of meteorite impact craters on Earth.
After departing a very snowy Tusayan, we began the longest driving day of the trip. The first stop of the day was Meteor Crater, a site which -despite having traveled to Arizona many times and despite being a space junky- I had never seen before. This site is still publicly-owned, despite several attempts to turn it into a National Monument.
What makes this site special is it probably the best preserved publicly-accessible impact crater site in the world. 1960s-era NASA astronauts even trained here to simulate hypothetical geological excursions into impact craters on the moon.
As it is a private site, there is an entrance fee; additionally, there isn’t a whole heck of a lot to see beyond the crater itself and a visitor’s center; however, you can choose to join a guided tour along the crater’s rim, if you’d like.
2. Painted Desert #1
The Painted Desert refers to a badlands (highly eroded, dry sedimentary terrains) which runs in a southeasterly arc from the eastern edge of Grand Canyon National Park through the area of Petrified Forest National Park.
Departing Meteor Crater, we traveled down Interstate 40 (through the Winslow, Arizona, made famous by The Eagles) to the northern entrance of Petrified Forest National Park. The northern part of the park contains very little petrified wood, but is an excellent place to see the unique and beautiful Painted Desert. Contrary to some expectations, there is no national park or national monument unit called “Painted Desert.”
3. Painted Desert #2
This was my second time visiting Petrified Forest National Park after a very quick pass-through some years earlier (a travelogue I may one day get around to writing!). This go-around I made sure to take extra time and soak in the beautiful vistas throughout the park.
4. Newspaper Rock
Newspaper Rock refers to a collection of stones which collectively contain over 600 petroglyphs made by ancestral Puebloan peoples.
Heading south through the park, you cross the old roadbed of Route 66 before arriving at Newspaper Rock. This is another site I passed by on my last visit. Unlike many petroglyph sites in the Southwest, this one is viewed from afar - while you will need a mid-range telephoto lens to get a picture of them, there are viewing scopes on the observation platform you can use to see them.
5. Blue Mesa #1
The Blue Mesa Loop is a 1 mile / 1.6 kilometer trail which highlights some of the National Park’s best Painted Desert scenery.
Having a little bit of time to spare, we decided to take the short Blue Mesa Loop hike. We were not disappointed as the scenery is fantastic. The trail can be accessed from a spur road off the park’s main thoroughfare, and is definitely worth the diversion! Plan on an hour if you make the trip (also: bring water!)
The next nine photographs are from the Blue Mesa Loop.
6. Blue Mesa #2
7. Blue Mesa #3
8. Blue Mesa #4
9. Blue Mesa #5
10. Blue Mesa #6
11. Blue Mesa #7
12. Blue Mesa #8
13. Blue Mesa #9
14. Blue Mesa #10
15. Agate Bridge
The Agate Bridge is a 100 foot / 30 meter long petrified log spanning a gully. Out of fears of its collapse (particularly from visitors standing atop of it) a concrete support was built in 1917.
Moving south through the park, we made a stop at Agate Bridge, a very neat and unique geological feature. A stop here only takes a few minutes, so definitely check it out if you’re moving through the park.
16. Jasper Forest
Jasper Forest represents the northernmost large collection of petrified wood in the National Park; a road once ran through here, but was converted to a hiking trail in the 1960s.
We made a quick stop at the Jasper Forest Overlook, a parking area and trailhead for a 2.5 mile / 4 kilometer hiking route. Unfortunately, time being a consideration we had to skip this one in favor of the Crystal Forest, but I will certainly add it to the list should I return to the park a third time!
17. Crystal Forest #1
The Crystal Forest Trail is a .75 mile / 1.2 kilometer paved loop trail which passes by some of the largest and highly-concentrated deposits of petrified wood in Petrified Forest National Park.
I had hiked the Crystal Forest Trail before, but knowing this is arguably the highlight of the park, I had no problem going back a second time. Here you get up-close-and-personal with some excellent examples of petrified wood. The geologic specimens you see here are fantastic and if you have only enough time for one activity, make it this one.
Nineteen photographs from Crystal Forest follow.
18. Crystal Forest #2
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Now back to the travelogue!
19. Crystal Forest #3
20. Crystal Forest #4
21. Crystal Forest #5
22. Crystal Forest #6
23. Crystal Forest #7
24. Crystal Forest #8
25. Crystal Forest #9
26. Crystal Forest #10
27. Crystal Forest #11
28. Crystal Forest #12
29. Crystal Forest #13
30. Crystal Forest #14
31. Crystal Forest #15
32. Crystal Forest #16
33. Crystal Forest #17
34. Crystal Forest #18
35. Crystal Forest #19
36. Crystal Forest #20
One important thing to remember if you visit Petrified Forest National Park is they have strict closing times - be sure to check closing times before you visit and ensure you have more than enough time to make it to the gate before getting bounced out by the Park Rangers.
This was not a problem for us, however, as we still had a 3.5 hour drive over the Continental Divide to Socorro, New Mexico, left to travel. It was nice to make this drive mostly during the daytime as the scenery was pleasant to look at. After a very quick stop to admire the Very Large Array, we made it to Socorro for a late check-in. The following day was the main reason for the trip, and I wanted to make sure I was well rested.
