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 Painted Desert Back Country Hiking Trail, Arizona
N 35° 05.025 W 109° 47.341
12S E 610394 N 3883001
Trailhead for dayhikes and overnight hikes in the Painted Desert
Waymark Code: WM13VN
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 01/06/2007
Views: 200
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Stretching across 93,533 acres, Arizona's Painted Desert is a colorful landscape, comprising of minerals and decayed organic matter. In addition to the amazing geological features, the area is covered with petrified wood and is also known for numerous dinosaur bone findings. The desert stretches from hwy 40 in Central Arizona all the way to Tuba City in the north. A little bit more than half of it is located within the borders of the Navaho reservation, so hiking there requires special knowledge of local regulation and special caution to not disturb Native American artifacts.
The other 43,000 acres are part of Petrified Forest National Park. Here, you can spend days hiking and camping, provided you obtained a (free) hiking permit at the Visitors Center.
Check out the park regulationshere, and here.
Here is a small gallery of the pictures we took hiking the Painted Desert.
The Trail
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 Painted Desert Inn |
Theoretically, one can start a hike from any parking lot, but there is only one official Trail Head, located at the Painted Desert Inn and park authorities strongly encourage to use that place to enter and leave the area. It is also the recommended spot for overnight parking.
The official "trail" down to the plateau is only half a mile long; from there on you are free to go any way you want. But there is one obvious path used by pretty much everybody and going on for miles and miles and probably days and days. |
Trailhead at the Painted Desert Inn |
End of the "official" trail |
Now, you on your own |
But the trail continues... |
...for miles and miles. |
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Loocking down from this cliff into a never ending desert, we decided we went far enough for one day.
We only went up to this place (listed under "Intermediate Trailhead 1") but as you can see in the last picture: the trail continues way farther.
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Petrified Wood
This high, dry land was once a vast floodplain crossed by many streams. Tall, stately conifer trees grew along the banks. Crocodile-like reptiles, giant amphibians, and small dinosaurs lived among a variety of ferns, cycads, and other plants known only as fossils today. Eventually, the trees fell and swollen streams washed them into adjacent floodplains. A mix of silt, mud and volcanic ashes buried the logs. The sediment cut off oxygen and slowed the logs decay. Silica-laden groundwater seeped through the logs and replaced the original wood tissues with silica deposits. Eventually the silica crystallized into quartz, and the logs were preserved as petrified wood.
The logs are practically everywhere. Here are some of our favorite pictures:
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The Desert
This desert changes color anywhere you look. Here are our favorite desert pictures:
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Qualifyer
Yes, we have really been here!
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Judy |
Volker |
Bernd das Brot |
The thing we appreciated the most is something we couldn't capture on a picture:
it is absolutely quiet down there! |
Recommended number of days to complete: 1.00
Distance in miles or kilometres: variable
Shelters?: No
Designated campsites?: No
Number of designated campsites: 0
Permit Required?: Yes
Best Season to Hike?: Year Long
Permit Fees?: 5.00 (listed in local currency)
Intermediate Trailhead 1: N 35° 05.483 W 109° 47.342
Coordinates of the other end's trailhead: Not Listed
Trail Website: Not listed
Overnight parking fee: Not Listed
Overnight parking coordinates: Not Listed
Intermediate Trailhead 2: Not Listed
Intermediate Trailhead 3: Not Listed
Intermediate Trailhead 4: Not Listed
Intermediate Trailhead 5: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
To log this waymark, you will require a photo of yourself or a member of your team at the trailhead. We would also appreciate a description of your visit to the trailhead, If you walked the trail, tell us about your experience, how long did it take you, did you do it solo, in a group? Please pass on any information useful to others who may choose to follow. The bottom line is tell us about your visit!
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