Guided Activities

Guided Activities

The year 2024 gives a new beginning to possible activities. We featured our popular backcountry hikes, touch tables at the museum, plaza, and on trails, and the paleo demo lab continues to connect scientists with the public. Be sure to check our social media pages (scroll down on any page to the links on the lower right) for information and events. Also, watch for roving rangers and volunteers in areas like Puerco Pueblo and Crystal Forest for on-the-spot information including show and tell items to share!

Celebrate National Public Lands Day
at the Painted Desert Inn
Saturday September 28

Join us in celebrating our fantastic volunteers—VIPs—during this day of the highest number of volunteers throughout the country!

There will be cake!
Join a tour of the historic inn 10am, 1pm, and 2pm.
Chat with our Cultural Demonstrator.
Watch a slide show of our volunteers through the years!

The Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark is located 2 miles from the north entrance of the park, exit 311 off Interstate 40. The inn is open 9am to 4 pm.

Join Ranger Vicky for Off the Beaten Path adventures this fall. The perfect hike is waiting for you!

Contact: Victoria Philpott
Email: e-mail us

Explore the Petrified Forest National Park one step at a time! Find that perfect location while enjoying the cool temperatures and fall colors with a ranger led hike. Your adventure awaits! Hike reservations are required and are free with paid entrance into the park or national park pass. Hikers should come prepared with adequate food, water, clothing, footwear, hat, and sunscreen. Pets are welcome on some of the hikes, please inquire at time of reservation. Please no children under the age of 12 on hikes. Inclement weather and extreme mud will cancel the hike.

Reservations required.

To make a reservation or for more information please email e-mail us

Friday, October 4th, 2024
Guided Backcountry Hike: Titanic
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike 6 miles round trip traversing a variety of terrains, past archaeological sites, and colorful geologic formations. Be prepared to hike approximately 6 hours over rugged desert terrain in off trail conditions with an average elevation gain about 400 feet and rated moderate due to uneven desert rolling hills.

Friday, October 11th, 2024
Guided Backcountry Hike: Red Basin Clam Beds
Difficulty: Strenuous
Hike 8.5 miles round trip through colorful geologic features, including some in recently acquired lands. Be prepared to hike approximately 7 hours in off-trail conditions, including wash beds, slopes, and rocky terrain with an average elevation gain of 600 feet, and rated strenuous due to rocky desert terrain.

Saturday, October 12th, 2024
Guided Backcountry Hike: Red Basin Clam Beds
Difficulty: Moderate
Drive with a ranger into the backcountry where we will then hike 4.5 miles round trip through colorful geologic features, including some in recently acquired lands. Be prepared to hike approximately 5 hours in off-trail conditions, including wash beds, slopes, and rocky terrain with an average elevation gain of 600 feet, and rated moderate due to rocky desert terrain.

Friday, October 18th, 2024
Guided Backcountry Hike: Historic Rainbow Forest Road
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike 5 Miles with an archeologist through the Rainbow Canyon, once popular as a visitation feature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Included will be passage along the historic, petrified wood paved road that early visitors traveled, and petrified wood deposits in the Park’s backcountry to an Ancestral Puebloan petroglyph site dating to approximately 1150-1300 CE. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work will also be explored. Be prepared to hike 6 hours in off-trail conditions including wash beds, compact sand, slopes, paved asphalt, and rocky terrain. The average elevation gain is approximately 225 feet and rated moderate.

Friday, October 25th, 2024
Guided Backcountry Hike: Devils Playground
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike 7 miles round trip and experience historic expedition routes through the Painted Desert as you hike with Park archeologists. Start with a 19th century mail stop and end with the blue banded badlands, wind carved sandstone formations, and stretches over desert pavement. Discover historic inscriptions along the mesa edges as you follow in the footsteps of some of the first Euro-Americans to traverse this region. Be prepared to hike approximately 6 hours over rugged desert terrain and wash walking, average elevation gain of 100 feet, rated moderate, for hiking in washes which may be muddy and rocky desert terrain. A high-clearance vehicle is necessary to access the Devils Playground area.

Friday, November 1st, 2024
Guided Backcountry Hike: Bear Springs
Difficulty: Challenging
Hike 9 miles round trip to a historic site on the eastern rim of the Painted Desert. Spectacular desert landscape views of the Painted Desert predominate along this route over varied terrain. Be prepared to hike approximately 7 hours in off-trail conditions, which include steep slopes, wash beds, and rocky terrain with an average elevation gain of 675 feet. Rated Challenging due to length, rolling landscape, and 600-foot steep descent/ascent.

Discover Rangers and Volunteers in the Park!

Keep your eyes open for one of our Interpreters out on the trails, the plaza, museum, or at overlooks. We love to answer questions and share the park's many stories. You might find us with touch tables, too!

Petrified Forest Field Institute, a Park Partner

Petrified Forest Field Institute--offered by the non-profit museum association--is proud to offer guided tours and field classes exploring fun and compelling subjects lead by world class guides and experts. https://www.petrifiedforestfieldinstitute.org/ This is not a government website or institution.

Artist-in-Residence Program

In the Artist-in-Residence Program selected artists spend time living and working in the park, sharing their experiences with visitors.

Cultural Demonstration Program

The Cultural Demonstration Program at Petrified Forest National Park provides local artisans with the opportunity to share their cultural and historical connections to the region with park visitors.