Trails

Walking the Rim Trail

NPS

The best way to enjoy and experience Petrified Forest National Park is on foot. Designated trails range in length from less than a half-mile to almost three miles.

Stay on designated trails in developed hiking areas. Off-trail hiking damages the fragile grassland environment and disturbs wildlife habitat, creating unsightly "social" trails. Leaving the designated trail can also be hazardous for hikers due to loose rock and dangerous cliffs.

Pets are allowed on most of the developed trails. Pets must be kept on leash at all times. Pets are not permitted in park buildings, in Wilderness Areas or on Wilderness access trails (except for service animals). Please clean up after your animal; use the trash receptacles.

Bicycles are not allowed on trails or off roads at any time.

At this time, none of the developed trails meet ADA requirements. Portions of some trails are accessible with assistance. Please see the descriptions below for more information.

 

Painted Desert

NPS/Marge Post

Painted Desert Rim Trail
Length: 1 mile round trip
Trailheads: Tawa Point and Kachina Point
This unpaved trail winds through the rim woodland, a place for chance encounters of many species of plants and animals and spectacular views of the Painted Desert.
Please do not harm animals or plants in the park.
Even though this trail does not have stairs, the waterbars and dirt-gravel surface may make this trail unsuitable for strollers or mobility vehicles.

 

Puerco Pueblo

NPS/Marge Post

Puerco Pueblo
Length: 0.3 mile loop
Trailhead: Puerco Pueblo parking area
At Puerco Pueblo, walk amidst the remains of a hundred room pueblo, occupied by the ancestral Puebloan people over 600 years ago. Petroglyphs can be viewed along the south end of the trail.
Do not climb on the boulders or walls. Please do not touch the petroglyphs.
This trail is paved and does not have stairs, making it suitable for strollers and various mobility equipment (power and manual).

 

Blue Mesa

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Blue Mesa
Length: 1 mile loop, moderately strenuous
Trailhead: Blue Mesa sun shelter
Descending from the mesa, this alternately paved and gravel trail loops among badland hills of bluish bentonite clay and petrified wood. Plant fossils, including delicate ferns, have been found in the sedimentary layers of Blue Mesa.
Please leave petrified wood and other fossils for all to enjoy.
The top portion of this trail may be negotiated by strollers and various mobility equipment (power and manual). The trail then drop very steeply to its lower portion.

 

Crystal Forest

NPS/Marge Post

Crystal Forest
Length: 0.75 mile loop
Trailhead: Crystal Forest parking area
Despite more than a century of collecting, beautiful crystals still hide in the colorful petrified logs at Crystal Forest.
Please leave them for others to enjoy. Report anyone removing petrified wood, or any other materials, from the park.
This paved trail may be negotiated with strollers, although there are a few steep hills. Mobility equipment may be used to access the shade shelter with assistance, but are not recommended on the loop due to narrow width and steep sections. There are no stairs.

 

Giant Logs Trail

NPS/Marge Post

Giant Logs
Length: 0.4 mile loop
Location: Behind Rainbow Forest Museum
* Trail guide available inside Rainbow Forest Museum.
Giant Logs features some of the largest and most colorful logs in the park. "Old Faithful", at the top of the trail, is almost ten feet wide at the base!
This paved trail has several sets of stairs and may not be suitable for strollers or mobility equipment.

 

Long Logs and Agate House Trails can be combined for a total of 2.6 miles round trip. See below for individual trail descriptions.

 

Long Logs Trail

NPS/Marge Post

Long Logs
Length: 1.6 mile loop
Trailhead: Rainbow Forest Museum parking area
Long Logs is one of the largest concentrations of petrified wood in the park. Explore this ancient log jam at the base of gray badlands.
Please leave petrified wood for others to enjoy. Report anyone removing petrified wood, or any other materials, from the park.
The first half-mile of this trail is paved and suitable for mobility equipment and strollers. Strollers may be negotiated on the loop, but it is not recommended for most wheelchairs and other mobility equipment due to its narrow width and very rough surface. Stairs up to the shade shelter can be avoided by using the Agate House trail to access the hilltop.

 

Agate House

NPS/Marge Post

Agate House
Length: 2 miles round trip
Trailhead: Rainbow Forest Museum parking area
Archeologists believe that this small pueblo was occupied for a short time about 700 years ago. Seasonal farmers or traders possibly built Agate House as a temporary home.
Please leave all archeological artifacts for all to enjoy. Do not sit on fragile walls.
The first half-mile of this trail is paved and suitable for strollers and various mobility equipment (power and manual). The rest of the trail may be negotiated out to Agate House, but it is narrow width and very rough surface, not suitable for some wheelchairs and other equipment.