Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park Az

Strangely magical and surprising, this desert changes color with the sun and is always so beautiful. The road to get there is straight... Crossing a desert is always long... Bring water and some sandwiches, there are not many places to eat.

We had a fantastic day, driving from the Flagstaff area, through Winslow on I-40, and north on HW 77 to the Painted Desert. I'll just let the pics do the explanation for you. The weather was perfect for a September afternoon, and I would encourage you to go in the off months like we did. Plenty of fairly level nature hikes available, or if you prefer ... LOTS of areas to pull over and just enjoy.

Beautiful natural wonder, along Route 66 adjoining the Petrified National Park. It's a nice drive but there are plenty of short trails too. There's a lot of history here. Tale time to look at the petroglyphs and ancient structures. It is dog friendly.

This pin is in the wrong location. This is someone's home. Search instead for "Painted Desert Visitors Center" which is at 1 Park Rd, Petrified Forest National Park, AZ 86028 just north of I-40 at exit 311.

PLEASE READ REVIEWS CAREFULLY!! This is not the location for the colourful rock formations!! Go to the Petrified Forest National Park! If you arrive at this location, you will find homes of the Native American families, not more than that. My family was very kindly greeted by the owners who explained to us that it’s a mistake on Google’s part. Look at the satellite images, those gorgeous rock formations aren’t here.

Took a drive to see the painted desert and Google maps took us to a house in the middle of nowhere. Anyone heading this way you need to search for Painted Desert visiting center Petrified Forest National Park

This is not the correct location of the Painted Desert. You have to go to the petrified forest national park to find the correct location

Be careful. When you ask Google maps for Painted Desert it takes you to some folks house up on highway 77. What you really want is the Painted Desert visitor center just off of highway 40 at the Petrified Forest.

Painted Desert is best accessed through Petrified Forest NP. It is a large area of interesting rock formations that take multiple colours from the many layers of rock deposits. It can be seen across Arizona, but Petrified Forest is the best way to get close access.

This link lead us down a road about 30 mile only to end up at someone’s home. Find the Painted Desert Visitor center for correct directions