Camping World’s Guide to RVing Petrified Forest National Park

Contributor

Shelley Dennis

Favorite Trip

Home Base

Favorite RV

About Contributor

Shelley Dennis is a travel photographer and writer who threw caution to the wind and gave up most of her belongings to travel the country in an RV. Her trusty sidekick for this lifetime adventure is her Golden Retriever, Sully. You can find them both at www.PhotoTrippingAmerica.com

About 50 miles west of the Arizona-New Mexico state line on old Route 66 lies Petrified Forest National Park. Created from ancient river beds and inland lakes, the area is known as the Painted Desert because of its colorful sandstone and mudstone deposits.

What sets it apart from other desert landscapes are its numerous petrified forests, created when the plant material from trees was replaced with quartz over millions of years. Today, the park glistens with multi-hued rock layers and exposed fossils, enticing visitors to explore an out-of-this-world setting for a closer view of nature’s handiwork.

Why Visit Petrified Forest National Park in Your RV?

Photo Tripping America - Petrified Forest - Camping World
Photo Credit: NPS Jacob Holgerson

The park is a perfect destination for RVers, with navigable paved roads and spacious pull-outs. Many hikers love the idea of heading off into the hills for an hour or two and returning to the comfort of their RV for shade and a bite of lunch before cruising to the next park highlight.

The park encompasses over 221,000 acres and is home to hundreds of plants, animals, fossils, and rock formations. As of June 2018, the park achieved International Dark Sky Park status. It is also one of the few national parks allowing leashed dogs on most trails.

When to Visit Petrified Forest National Park

Photo Tripping America - Petrified Forest - Camping World

The park is open year-round, but with a location in the middle of the Arizona desert, temperatures range from above 100℉ to below freezing. This semi-arid desert grassland is home to plants and animals that know how to adapt to these extremes, so you’ll need to be able to as well. 

Petrified Forest National Park in the Spring

Because hiking is popular here, spring is an optimum time for visitors. March highs get up to the mid-60s, but that average goes up to the high 70s by May. Low temps can still dip below freezing in the early spring but typically rise to the mid-40s by May. Spring is also one of the driest times of the year in the park. 

Petrified Forest National Park in the Summer

The daytime high temperatures might be less pleasant for a visit during the summer months. Although warm, much of the park’s 10 inches of annual rainfall arrives during the summer in the form of dramatic thunderstorms. 

Summer highs top out in the low 90s from June through August, and low temperatures rarely drop past the mid-50s. June and July are the wettest months, with an average of five days of rainfall each. 

Petrified Forest National Park in the Fall

Cooling temperatures make fall another popular time to visit Petrified Forest. Thunderstorms can be more frequent than in the spring, but average highs stay in the mid-80s through September before dropping into the low 60s by November. 

Petrified Forest National Park in the Winter

Winter can bring surprise snowstorms on occasion, but these are typically infrequent. Although it’s a desert environment, average daytime highs only rise into the high-40s or low 50s during the winter months, while the coldest month (January) sees an average low of 23℉.

Where to Stay

Photo Tripping America - Petrified Forest - Camping World

There are no campgrounds within Petrified Forest National Park. Backcountry camping is allowed at least one mile from two designated parking areas with a permit, which can be obtained for free at a visitor center. Permits are issued daily until 4:30 PM.

Group size is limited to eight people, but there’s plenty to explore on foot. You can head out and camp in the park’s northern or southern wilderness areas and get away from motorized vehicles and bicycles on the park’s main road. 

Staying Outside the Park

staying-outside-guide-to-rving-petrified-forest-national-park-11-2022
OK RV Park Photo by Good Sam

Surrounding towns like Holbrook and Joseph City have private campgrounds where RVs are welcome. Here are a few:

  • Holbrook/Petrified Forest KOA: Located in Holbrook, about 25 minutes from the visitor center. It Offers tent and RV campsites, a pool, snack bar, a camp kitchen, and a dog park.
  • OK RV Park: Located in Holbrook, about 25 minutes from the visitor center. Provides 30 and 50-amp hookups and pull-thru sites. Laundry service is onsite, along with a clubhouse.
  • GreatSky CampRanch: Located in Show Low, about 70 minutes south of the visitor center.  

Invest in a Good Sam Membership and save 10% on nightly stays at Good Sam Campgrounds.

Tips for Your Camping Stay

camping-tips-guide-to-rving-petrified-forest-national-park-11-2022
Photo by Bram Reusen via Shutterstock

For backcountry camping or day visits to Petrified Forest, here are a few tips to help you make the most of your visit: 

  • Any collection of petrified wood, plants, and other objects is prohibited. 
  • Bring a backpacking or camping stove, as wood and charcoal fires aren’t permitted. 
  • Pack out any food waste and trash you pack in and follow all other Leave No Trace principles to protect this fragile desert environment. 
  • A minimum of one gallon of water per person per day is recommended for summer visits.
  • Research current conditions and possible closures before your visit.

How to Get Around Petrified Forest National Park

Photo Tripping America - Petrified Forest - Camping World

Getting to Petrified Forest National Park is pretty straightforward. It is located in the northeastern part of Arizona and is accessible via Interstate 40 at exit 311. The Visitors Center is about a mile north of the highway, but the park has regions that run north of the interstate and as far south as Highway 180.

Traveling around the park requires a car or RV. No motorized vehicles are allowed on park trails; however, horses are permitted in the Painted Desert Wilderness. There is no public transportation available in the area.

Petrified Forest National Park has incredibly unique examples of geology, archaeology, and paleontology within the national park system. You will come away from your visit with a sense of awe at what Mother Nature has accomplished here.

Places to Go in Petrified Forest National Park

There are plenty of interesting places to visit inside Petrified Forest National Park. Here are some of the must-see spots.

Painted Desert Inn

Photo Tripping America - Petrified Forest - Camping World

Once known as the Stone Tree House, this National Historic Landmark was originally created from petrified wood. In the 1930s, it was remodeled with the stucco façade seen today. It serves as a museum and art gallery.

Painted Desert Visitors Center

Part of a 23-building complex, the Visitors Center encompasses a self-contained community with a gas station, residences, maintenance shop, restaurant, gift shop, restrooms, and information center. Visitors can enjoy park videos and ranger-led tours here.

Agate House

Photo Tripping America - Petrified Forest - Camping World

One of many ancient houses within the park that replicate the year-round residences once used by navtive people who lived in the area. The structures were built from stacked petrified wood, offering shelter from the often harsh conditions. This one is in the park’s Rainbow Forest region.

Newspaper Rock

An area of the park that includes over 650 petroglyphs that were created by ancient Native Americans who lived in the region.

Route 66

Petrified Forest is the only national park through which the legendary Route 66 highway passes through. Remnants of “The Mother Road” can still be seen in a line of telephone poles along the old road bed.

Puerco Pueblo

puerco-guide-to-rving-petrified-forest-national-park-11-2022
Photo by Deep Desert Photography via Shutterstock

Pueblo people wandered this area up until the 1300s and built a series of structures that housed around 200 people until drought and unknown forces caused them to abandon their homes. The foundation of this pueblo complex can be explored in the park.

Things to Do in Petrified Forest National Park

There are not only cool places to see in the park, but there’s also plenty to do. Here are some recreational activities to enjoy while visiting.

Hiking

Photo Tripping America - Petrified Forest - Camping World

There are dozens of hiking trails throughout the Painted Desert. Here are a few of the most popular options:

Horseback Riding

horse-guide-to-rving-petrified-forest-national-park-11-2022
Photo by Zadranka via Shutterstock

The Painted Desert Wilderness Access Trail is two miles north of the Visitors Center and has ample parking for horse trailers. There are no designated trails, but riders are asked to leave minimal impact on the area by traveling through dry washes when possible. Camping permits are available for overnight stays in the area.

Geocaching

Photo Tripping America - Petrified Forest - Camping World

Petrified Forest National Park has created several geocaches throughout the park, including virtual, traditional, and earth caches. They participate in the “Find Your Park Geo Tour,” and parking has been made accessible near all coordinates.

Backpacking

backpacking-guide-to-rving-petrified-forest-national-park-11-2022
Photo by NPS

The park is a backpacker’s paradise, as you can essentially spend the night anywhere amongst the petrified logs as long as you’re more than a half-mile away from your vehicle. Get a free camping permit at the visitor center or Rainbow Forest Museum and ask rangers for instructions on where to backpack throughout the park.

What to Bring and How to Prepare

prepare-guide-to-rving-petrified-forest-national-park-11-2022
Photo by Jim Vallee via Shutterstock

Desert living can be different if you’re not accustomed. These tips will help you make the most of your visit to this beautiful part of Arizona.

Brief History of Petrified Forest National Park

Photo Tripping America - Petrified Forest - Camping World

The history of this arid landscape has included human occupation for the last 13,000 years and started with nomadic natives. More recently, pueblo peoples lived in villages built from rocks and petrified trees until drought drove them away.

It wasn’t until the 1500s that the name of this desert, “El Desierto Pintado,” was coined by Spanish explorers looking for travel routes.

By the mid-1800s, US Army Lt. Amiel Whipple led a group of surveyors through the region, searching for trails to the Pacific Ocean. He left us with the first known documentation about the petrified wood found along what he referred to as Lithodendron Creek (Stone Tree Creek).

In 1857, others followed Whipple’s trail, building a wagon road and using camels as pack animals. However, what was considered a grand experiment fizzled out when the government refused to invest in camel travel. Once the road was improved, settlers soon followed, and ranches began to sprout throughout the area.

The early 1900s brought naturalists and scientists to Petrified Forest as word spread regarding the vast number of fossils in the area. John Muir originally came to Arizona for his daughter’s health but later returned to California with a small collection of fossils.

Annie Alexander and Dr. Charles Camp oversaw fossil expeditions, and H.P. Mera recorded 87 archaeological sites within today’s park boundaries. After all of these scientific discoveries, it’s easy to see why President Theodore Roosevelt protected the area as Petrified Forest National Monument in 1906.

But it took another 56 years for the National Park Service to upgrade its status to a national park on December 6th, 1962. 


Plan your next trip to the national parks in an RV. Rent an RV, trade in your RV, or buy a new or used RV and start traveling for less than $5 a day.

Have you ever been to the Petrified Forest National Park? Share your tips in the comment below.

  • Comment (4)
  • Beverly J. Ellis says:

    I can’t wait too visit,I own land very near by,God is amazing and a mystery

  • Patricia says:

    Best time to visit Petrified Forest and Painted Desert (in my opinion) is Spring. I arrive early enough that I can enter the either park around dawn, when the colors are bright and not washed out from the heat and bright sunlight. Great for photography! Also, one or both of these parks allow dogs on all paved trails, but not in the visitor centers/museums. Summer is too hot for me and my pup and the storms blow in too quickly in the Fall and Winter – neither of us can run!

  • Bridget says:

    Thank you for the info! Going today….. !

  • Anonymous says:

    I’ll never go to the petrified national park… No public transportation , no tow truck either.. break down and die!! Yikes and no thanks or need for the hit Arizona dezert

Leave Your Comment

Shop By RV Type

Your Adventure Awaits

Join our email list and stay up-to-date on the latest news, product innovations, events, promotions, and lots of other fun updates.
By checking this box, you expressly authorize Camping World to send you recurring automated promotional marketing text messages (e.g. cart reminders) to the telephone number entered, which you certify is your own. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Reply HELP for help and STOP to cancel. Msg. frequency varies. Msg. & data rates apply. View Terms & Privacy.
By checking this box, you expressly authorize Camping World to send you recurring automated promotional marketing text messages (e.g. cart reminders) to the telephone number entered, which you certify is your own. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Reply HELP for help and STOP to cancel. Msg. frequency varies. Msg. & data rates apply. View Terms & Privacy.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Scroll to Top