It's even better now than when I saw it 50 years ago. The vistas and the majesty of it is awesome. Don't miss the Painted Desert Inn stop on the loop. It's in great shape and has a good set of displays. A beautiful NPS stop.

Worth while to get off the freewayPretty cool. Landscape seems contrived, like the pieces of trees were placed. Unfortunately some dealers outside the park have more petrified wood that what is in the park.

After spending the day at the Grand Canyon we took a chance on visiting the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. I was pleasantly surprised by the natural beauty, tranquility and history here! We opted to not stop at all the pull offs along the way but picked the ones that appealed to our families interest. We recommend on starting early... More

This is a desert park with nothing but the splendour and beauty of the desert on display. If you love the open horizons, beauty, peace and timelessness of the desert then joy will love this park. I have been to a few deserts in different continents and most are very inaccessible and require a lot of time and patience before... More

Firstly I have to say that I had originally never intended to go and see the Painted Desert as the name just didn't strike a chord with me. I was originally after the Petrified Forest, but you can't do one without the other. It's all on the same long scenic road. I am now glad to say that the Painted... More

We called in here on our way back down to Sedona and spent three to four really enjoyable hours looking at the extraordinary colours - first in the painted desert 'sand dunes', then in the logs and tree stumps of the petrified forest. Many of the logs had been cut open or sliced so that the colour variations could be... More

This National Park is very interesting. They have short films to view at the Visitors Centers which is very helpful in explaining the history and scientific reasons for the things you see here. Both visitor centers show the same film, so it doesn't matter which entrance you use to come into the park. There are restrooms and gift shops in... More

The painted desert is part of the Petrified National Park. There are actually three parts to the park, the Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, and Blue Mesa. It's not really clear from the Website, that if you start at one end of the park, you are going to see all three parts of the park, and end up at a different... More

This is a decent way to kill an hour winding through the painted desert at 35mph for 28 miles. Nothing bad about any of it, just a leisurely tour with as many or as few stops as you want along the way. You could easily stop every 15 minutes and walk around if you are so inclined. Happy that I... More