Painted Desert Rim Trail

The Painted Desert is sprawling, its reach extends from the Four Corners, west to the Grand Canyon and south to Petrified Forest National Park. In total it encompasses 7,500 square miles and is full of colorful mesas that are worthy of its name. In Petrified Forest National Park you can head out into the backcountry to explore this otherworldly desert landscape. Your first order of business is...

Although short, the Blue Forest Trail is one of the most unexpectedly coolest hikes I've been on.  It's kind of strange to hike in what used to be a dense forest/swamp area that is now a barren desert full of petrified wood. Parking for this trail is just north of the Blue Mesa Loop in a pullout near the Tepees.  There is an old gravel road that you follow on foot until you find the trail. Fr...

The easiest route is to drive from the southern entrance to the Petrified Forest National Park and head north toward the 3.5 mile Blue Mesa Scenic Drive.  The drive itself is nice and offers other hikes depending on what pullout you stop your car.  For the Blue Mesa Trail look for the 3rd or 4th pullout - the one with the covered picnic table.   The hike itself is easy and flat.  You'll notice...

This is probably one of the most scenic drives in the Petrified Forest National Park.  From the main road, the loop is only three miles long.  There are many pullouts along the loop where you can get out of your vehicle to snap some photos.  You will see many large pieces of petrified wood strewn across the landscape.  You will also find information signs posted along the loop explaining the hi...

For centuries the Agate Bridge, a 110 ft stone log, has laid across an arrow withstanding corrosion from the elements.  The stone log is harder than the surrounding sandstone that it's perched upon.  The sandstone is slowly eroding away around this natural bridge. making it vulnerable to collapse.  In 1911 a group of conservationists felt that the Agate Bridge needed architectural support and i...

There really isn't much to this hike beyond exploring all the different types of petrified wood deposits.  It's named after the wood that has formed in the petrified logs.  I felt like it was the best place to go in the park to have an opportunity to see a diverse array of petrified wood in one place.   If you go in the summer just make sure you carry water because you're completely exposed. ...