Last Updated: May 2, 2026
Driving across northern Arizona on I-40 — the modern descendant of old Route 66 — it’s easy to treat Petrified Forest National Park as a quick roadside stop between bigger destinations. That would be a mistake. This park, which encompasses both the Painted Desert and one of the world’s largest concentrations of petrified wood, is one of the most geologically and archaeologically extraordinary places we’ve visited anywhere in the American Southwest. We came through in October traveling between Canyon de Chelly and Winslow, and we wished we’d budgeted more time. The park deserves a full day — ideally two.
