A story in stone: Arizona's Petrified Forest provides fascinating look at a surreal world

PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. — Imagine the Greek goddess Medusa was real, not a myth, and that she visited an Arizona forest in the prehistoric past, turning many of the trees to stone with her magical gaze.

That fantasy land wouldn't be much different from what you actually see in northeastern Arizona today.

Petrified Forest National Park, about 100 miles east of Flagstaff off I-40, is centered around what is believed to be the world's largest concentrations of petrified wood, dating from some 225 million years ago.

And really, you get two parks in one, for here, too, are the spectacular, sculpted badlands of the Painted Desert. Add in examples of ancient Native American ruins and petroglyphs, factor in the relatively few visitors and you have a unique yet highly accessible place to explore.

Despite its proximity to a busy interstate highway, only some 600,000 people visit Petrified Forest each year, so solitude can be readily found — especially in winter. (One-sixth of all annual visitors come in July alone.)

The park's backbone is a 28-mile paved road between I-40 and Arizona Highway 180 that winds through, or links to, the best the area has to offer. There are visitor centers on both ends of the sinuous park road, but many visitors like to approach from the south and reconnect with I-40 at the end of a day's tour.

That's what we did.

The Giant Logs Trail, an easy 0.3-mile paved path, is one of the "must-sees" — the most popular location in the park, according to Hallie Larsen, a park ranger.

It is the premier opportunity to see petrified wood up close and in great numbers. Located at the southwest end of the park, just off Arizona 180 (the park's southern entryway), visitors can get acquainted with the park first through the adjacent Rainbow Forest Museum.

The largest petrified log in the park, "Old Faithful," is found along the Giants trail. Located at the trail's top, it is almost 10 feet wide. Unfortunately, the trail has several sets of stairs and is not handicap accessible.

But there are dozens of "logs" — or portions thereof — scattered on the hillside behind the museum: great chunks, knobby and striated, yet upon closer look they appear rather crystalline and, yes, rock-like. Many look like a California redwood has topped and broken into pieces.

Larsen said just a two- to three-hour visit to the park is average for most visitors, but that still allows them to see many of the highlights.