Few questions about "Petrified Forest Nat'l Park" in AZ

[pjlla]

DD has just come to me and asked if we can stop during our trip down south this summer to see this Nat'l Park. She learned about it in school today. It is on our route from Albuquerque, NM to William, AZ, where we are spending the night before going to the Grand Canyon South Rim the next day. That said, if we did stop we probably wouldn't have more than an hour or two (maximum) to spend. Would it be worth it? We wouldn't be arriving until approximately 4pm. Does anyone have any experience visiting this park? Thanks in advance................P

 

[pjlla]

Self-serving bump!........P

 

[tlgoblue]

It is pretty cool. DD12 and DS14 always want to stop. There are trails and you can pretty much spend as much or as little time as you want there. There is a nice shop and an information station that is full of info. It could be a nice little trip. We arrived there around10:30 a.m. and also took in the Crator in Winslow and hit the Grand Canyon by 1:30, so it is very doable.

 

[happybratpack]

I went during a trip to all the major parks in AZ in 1999. I actually enjoyed it (even though I didn't think I would). We took our time and stopped several places to walk around but still spent two hours max there. I have pics somewhere at home, I can look tonight and let you know.

Are you doing the Grand Canyon Railway out of Williams? I loved that! (not so much our lodging at the Canyon though) Next time I'd stay somewhere else there.

Let me know if I can help any, we pretty much hit every major park in AZ over a 2.5 week time.

 

[pjlla]

Thanks for the replies... that is just what I was looking for. Looks like we are going to try to fit it in (depending on how the day goes, of course). I called and the park hours for that day are 7a - 7p, so even if we didn't arrive until 4pm, we would still have time to see things.

About the railroad from Williams... nope, not doing it. Too much $$ and too much . We only have half a day to see the GC. Maybe sometime in the future though... DS loves trains.

Thanks again for your help!...............P

 

[Midnight]

Here's a few links to check out:

http://www.nps.gov/pefo/

http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/petrified_forest/national_park.html

http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_national_park/az_petri.htm (beware popups)

http://www.shannontech.com/ParkVision/PetForest/PetForest.html

There was tons more. I googled "Petrified Forest National Park Arizona" (without the quotes). I have never been, myself. Just the Grand Canyon so far.

 

[tar heel]

It's really interesting, but a couple hours should be plenty. After a while, the petrified wood all starts to look alike! We walked around a bit and hiked up to a little house. One thing I remember is that it was incredibly hot, so make sure you have water bottles with you if you venture far from the car.