• Jasper Forest is magical in twilight, particularly the logs on stone pedestals

    Petrified Forest

    National Park Arizona

Petrified Forest National Park Changes to Winter Hours—October 2010

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Date: October 14, 2010
Contact: Lyn Carranza, 928-524-6228 x245

Petrified Forest, AZ―Petrified Forest National Park will be changing to winter hours on October 24, 2010. The park will open at 8:00 a.m. and close at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST) daily. 

The Painted Desert Visitor Center and the Rainbow Forest Museum hours will be the same as the park hours. The Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Winter hours will continue until February 27, 2011. The park will be closed on December 25th, 2010.

Ranger-guided tours are available daily. Check at the visitor centers for programs or visit the website at http://www.nps.gov/pefo/planyourvisit/guidedtours.htm.

  • Painted Desert Inn Tour: 12 pm—Meet the ranger at the Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark. Explore this intriguing historic building with a ranger and discover its fascinating past.

  • Triassic Park Program: 10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm—How did living trees turn to stone? Discover Triassic treasures with a ranger, which may include a talk in the sunroom and/or an easy walk (with a few short stairs) along the Giant Logs Trail. Meet in the Rainbow Forest Museum sunroom.

  • Puerco Pueblo Tour: 10 am and 3 pm—Take a journey into the past and discover the ancestral Puebloan people of Petrified Forest. Meet the ranger at the Puerco Pueblo trailhead.


Keep your eyes out! Rangers and volunteers rove the trails to help you explore and respond to your questions.

For more information call (928) 524-6228, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. MST; or write to the Superintendent, Petrified Forest National Park, P.O. Box 2217, Petrified Forest, AZ 86028; or e-mail the park Superintendent.

Did You Know?

Agate House pueblo made with petrified wood chunks

Petrified wood was so abundant when the ancestral Puebloan people were living in the area that they used it not only for stone tools but also as building material, such as the "brick" used in Agate House at Petrified Forest National Park.