NPS Photo
Petrified Forest National Park
Tonight at Petrified Forest National Park
Park Hours: 8am to 5pm, MST. Don't forget that Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings. Petrified Forest is best known for its Triassic fossils. It's like having two parks in one, an ecosystem over 200 million years old with plants and animals now represented in the surreal landscape of the Painted Desert. There is also a living park with its own denizens adapted to a demanding environment.
Weather & conditions
Petrified Forest National Park is a semi-arid grassland. Temperatures range from above 100° F (38° C) to well below freezing. About 10 inches (25.4 cm) of moisture comes during infrequent snow in the winter and often dramatic summer thunder-storms. Animals and plants are adapted to extremes in temperature and moisture. You should be ready too. Check out the forecast before you arrive and plan accordingly.
What this latitude gives you
From 35.0° north, anything above declination +55.0° is circumpolar here: it never sets, so it is available on every clear night of the year. Anything below declination -55.0° never clears the horizon at all.
Astronomical darkness lasts through every night of the year here, including midsummer, which makes this a rare site for a June or July imaging trip.
We do not hold a measured Bortle class for this site, so treat the sky as unknown until you have taken a reading of your own.
Where to stay near Petrified Forest National Park
Hotels, cabins, lodges and holiday rentals within reach of these coordinates, for the nights you have chosen above. We earn a commission if you book through this map, at no extra cost to you. It does not change what you are shown: nothing here is ordered, promoted or paid for. How the site is paid for.
- Address
- Exit 311, Petrified Forest, AZ 86028
- Phone
- 928-524-6822
- Coordinates
- 34.9839, -109.7878
- Official site
- nps.gov