Petrified Forest Crystal Forest

About this spectacle

The Crystal Forest section of Petrified Forest National Park offers one of the most concentrated displays of ancient petrified wood on Earth. Walking the easy loop trail, visitors encounter enormous fallen logs, some over 100 feet long, whose original wood has been replaced atom by atom with silica minerals over 225 million years. The result is a field of stone timber glittering with amethyst, jasper, and quartz crystals that catch the Arizona sun in flashes of purple, red, orange, and gold. The landscape is stark and open — a high desert plateau with sweeping views under an expansive sky. In morning light the colors are richest; by midday the heat shimmers off the painted badlands. Wind and silence dominate. There is no shade, no crowds of trees — just the eerie sensation of walking among logs that predate the dinosaurs, turned to gem-studded stone.

When to go

Jan — Dec, peak Sep — May

Getting there

Nearest airport: FLG. Nearest city: Holbrook.

Booking options

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