Went on a nice long hike and there was nearly nobody else in the trail, just how I like it! Worth a…read morevisit to this hidden gem!

Amazing landscape of black lava flows. Make sure to wear hiking boots or good secure shoes if…read morewalking in the Malapais. Check out the Sandstone Bluffs nearby as well, with views overlooking the lava flow.

Surprisingly lovely and new looking visitors center! Perfect for kids and not far from the town of…read moreGrants

Interesting stop. Good displays as an introduction to this volcanic region dotted with ice caves,…read morehiking trails, and forests. The ranger was mapping out a hike with another visiting couple when we were there. The gift shop had fun stuff on bats since one of the caves has a nightly bat flyout. Star gazing is also good in this area.

I unfortunately didn't have time to go on a guided tour of Canyon de Chelly (it's located in the…read moreNavajo Nation, so you need to have a licensed tour guide to enter the majority of the Canyon), but I visited the welcome center, both the north and south rim drives, and hiked the White House Trail. The welcome center is staffed with NPS rangers and volunteers. There's a small gift shop and museum area with exhibits. There's also a hogan outside and you can ask the ranger to give a hogan talk and even enter it. The rim drives are gorgeous, although dusk and dawn really bring out the colors. The canyon rims are quite sheer which is different from a lot of other canyons. Pueblos can be seen from several lookouts, so bring binoculars. There tends to be people selling artwork and jewelry at the lookouts, so if you're interested, bring cash. The White House Trail is the only publicly accessible trail without a guide. It starts at the lookout, and you can see the structure from the parking lot, or decide to hike down to get a closer look (it's fenced off with a chain link fence to avoid people not respecting it). The hike is 2.5 miles round trip with little shade (although does have two cool tunnels), so bring water.

Canyon de Chelly is an amazing place. Whether you are passing through and get a chance to spend an…read morehour or 2 driving the North or South roads, it's worth it! It might not get any of the recognition of its big sister the Grand Canyon, but it is beautiful nonetheless! I'll also take the quietness and much smaller crowds. The South Road gives you great views for the afternoons, and the North Road gives you great morning views as the sun comes up. Either way there are some great viewpoints that are very different on each road. There are plenty of trails at the Outlook points, but you can really just make your own trail by walking wherever you can and want as long as you are careful. I take my pups and in some areas actually let them loose because we are the only ones around and because I trust my pups to not fall off the edge.

On November 25, 2025, the Painted Desert Visitor Center was closed for renovations…read more Coincidently, this is the same visitor center for the Petrified Forest National Park. I did not see signage for its anticipated re-opening. The woman at the gate who took my national park pass was not at all chatty. Not welcoming. She also did not indicate that this center was closed. I still got out to walk around and check it all out. Then I decided I should use the restroom before my haul to Albuquerque. Denied! The restroom in the nearby dining hall was closed for cleaning. Lol. It would have been nice to have gotten my passport stamps and learn a thing or two, but maybe next time if there is one...

Didn't get to stay long at the Visitors Center as we took too long to do the Painted…read moreDesert/Petrified Forest drive. Had 15 minutes before they closed. I got my passport stamp, and we were able to quickly purchase postcards and a DVD that was on sale. Even though it was close to closing time there were plenty of people still in the center, but the staff didn't seem to mind they were still smiling. I do regret not being able to spend the time to look at the exhibits in the center, but next time I'll try not to dawdle on the drive through the parks.

Wonderful park with a 2 mile scenic scenic loop trail taking you by inscriptions in the rock dating…read moreback to the 1800's.

El Morro is an unexpected and therefore under visited national park site. Because of this, it is…read moreeven more worth the visit. Well off the modern beaten path, it was much less so over 150 years ago. Travelers of all kinds "pasó por aqui" (passed through here), leaving inscriptions on the rock face while seeking refuge from the harsh desert environment. The water pool oasis at the base of the jutting rock face fills only from precipitation and never dries. It's been a waypoint for at least a millennium. If you are less inclined to the post-colonial history, you'll still be happy to visit here. Pueblo dwelling walls of stone still remain just beside the Headland/Mesa Top Trail that takes you up to the top of this landmark for a high view over the surrounding plains and even down into the so-called Box Canyon. The original carvings in the sandstone predate settlers as petroglyphs featuring animals that once roamed here. The visitor center is very informative with friendly staff, a small museum, and a short film about site history. Naturally, a gift shop seals the deal with plenty of gifts and books to send or carry back home. With no fee entry, it's absolutely worth a step off the beaten path to "pass through here".

What a cool park!…read more We have a lifetime parks pass, so it's been great to be able to explore when we can. We spent about 1/2 day here - drove to many of the overlooks for some very cool views. Followed someone recommendation to hike the Blue Mesa and truly felt like we were walking on the moon. Very cool colors and petrified logs lying around. It's about a mile; so quite a short hike but you are 'up close and personal' with nature. Take the time to walk thru the museum at the Inn (there's also clean restrooms here and an ice cream shop). They've done a great job preserving the original furniture and such. The parking lots at many of the stops had several spots for RV's and could accommodate towing as well. Clean restrooms thru out the park too A tip would be to hike in the morning as the afternoons can get pretty toasty and windy

I am a big fan of national parks and am also a big fan of keeping them fully budgeted and staffed…read more If you have ever been to a national park, you know that they get a ton of visitors from other countries. These foreign folks love our national parks for good reason. Americans should also appreciate them. Now, this is probably not one of the "must do" national parks. It is not a Yosemite or a Yellowstone. There is no camping here and much of the park is entirely experienced by driving around in your car. There are a few hiking spots, some better than others. There are two entrances and there is only one road between them. It is impossible to get lost, although there are a few turnoffs. You drive from one entrance to the other and then you are done. Apparently, some people drive through the park, never leave their car, and spend about an hour in total here. It seems crazy to me to visit a national park in one hour and I do not recommend it. Do one or more of the hikes. Get out and experience a few of the overlooks. The Blue Mesa portion of the park is incredible. That was probably the highlight of the park for me. The color of the hills is just surreal. It is like you landed on Mars. You will, of course, see petrified (or "fossilized") wood here. It is multi-colored beautiful stuff. The visitor center on the north end is much better than the one at the south end. There is a cafe at the north visitor center, better souvenirs, and also the Painted Desert Inn where you can experience a bit of history from about a 100 years ago. Spend some time here whether you are just entering the park or leaving it. I would plan on spending about three or four hours here, especially if you do at least one good hike and stop at most of the overlooks. If you did all the hikes and all the overlooks and bring a lunch (there are no picnic or lunch areas, by the way), you could probably spend the entire day here. Half a day, including one long hike, was fine for us and I feel like we saw all of the highlights. I hate to give any area of land less than 5 stars through no fault of its own but this is not one of the more spectacular national parks in the country. But if you are in the area, it is worth a visit.

My brother, dad and I had an amazing experience at Chaco Culture National Historic site. We felt…read morevery fortunate to be able to visit such a magical place. I wont go into details, but it is worth the trip to come see this place at-least once in your lifetime and feel the energy that is here. We came in through the south rim off the 57. It is about a good 20 mile drive on a rough dirt road. I would not recommend driving here in any low profile vehicles or when it is raining because you will get stuck in the mud. Make sure your tires are good. Some patches are very rough and you will literally need to drive around 15mph. Once you reach near the visitor center there is paved road again. The loop is all paved and individual parking sites with restrooms are located in every site and will lead you on the trails. The hikes are moderate, but look out for snakes. The visiting section has a gift shop, really nice restrooms and they will provide all the info you may need. Entrance fee was only $25.

Just a heads up came here in January. I did not expect it would be snow covered fields and roads…read more The road leading up to this place no matter where you're coming from Highway 40 or Highway 25, eventually turns into a dirt road. Because it was frozen with snow on top our drive was pretty slow - 35 mph. I cannot imagine if it was a rainy day, all that mud. Don't come here if you don't have high suspension or at least an all-wheel-drive vehicle. We came here and had less than an hour left. The Ranger said we can drive the loop and see as many buildings as we can but we weren't able to see the large Pueblo. Still, it was worth it. Pictures turned out amazing. I did the junior ranger program booklet as fast as I could and I have to say it's one of the harder ones I've encountered if you were to finish the whole entire thing. I would come back here again, except when there's no snow that way you get to see way more of the architecture.

This was a terrible stop today. There isn't any open washrooms and was nobody to find any help…read morewith. We didn't even find a place to pay for our stay. There is no camp hosts or rangers and this was at 230 in the afternoon. The drive in is full off old run down buildings and cars

The setting is beautiful- BUT the showers and bathhouse were locked and closed. The only toilets…read moreavailable were 2 really dirty pit toilets with no toilet paper. There were water spigots but the water that came out was yellow. Almost every site had a red reserved sign but the campground was empty. Will not stay again.

Located in Petrified Forest National Park, this building is made of petrified wood and other native…read morestone. It blends harmoniously in with the surrounding badlands. There's a gift shop, small visitor center, exhibits about the Inn, a small ice cream parlor, and bathrooms here. One room serves as an NPS ranger station, since the Painted Desert Visitor center in the Painted Desert Community Complex is currently closed for renovation. It's kind of small, but it's ok since you're probably more involved in taking in the breathtaking desert views. I'm glad that the NPS is preserving this building, even though it's built on unstable soil, so they have to do a lot of maintenance and upkeep so it doesn't collapse. Even if you don't appreciate the historical value, it's still a cool building to look at and walk through.

The Painted Desert is one of my favorite spots at Petrified Forest National Park. I love the…read morebeautiful colors on the cliffs, hills, mesas and buttes. There are several places for people to enjoy these gorgeous views. The Painted Desert is a badlands area in the northern part of the park. It stretches all the way to the east end of Grand Canyon National Park. The Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark is located here and has a lot of history to it. We made a stop here and checked out the gift shop and some of the artifacts that they have on display. The Painted Desert Inn was called the Stone Tree House back in the 1920s. It was a place for visitors to buy food, drinks and American Indian arts and crafts. It was built of mostly petrified wood. Petrified Forest National Monument (before it became a national park) purchased the building once it started showing signs of wear and tear. It was redesigned with a Pueblo Revival Style design to it and reopened in 1940. The Painted Desert Inn supplied Route 66 travelers with lodging, meals and souvenirs during its heyday. It went through more renovations and repairs to look like what it is today. Today, the Painted Desert Inn is a museum that showcases the history of the building, information about the historic Route 66 (it once passed through here), and the Civilian Conservation Corps. The Painted Desert Visitor Center is down the road with a park ranger on hand if you need information about Petrified Forest National Park. There is also a park ranger here at Painted Desert Inn.