Painted Desert Visitor Center and Rainbow Forest Museum - Petrified Forest National Park

Painted Desert Visitor Center

Our May 2015 trip to the Southwest included a visit to Petrified Forest National Park. The easiest way to reach the park is to take exit 311 off Interstate 40 in eastern Arizona. A short drive north leads to the Painted Desert Visitor Center. This nearly 50 year old complex was designed by architect Richard Neutra and funded as part of the Mission 66 program that preceded the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service. Like the visitor centers at Saguaro National Park, this one is located outside the fee area and is thus used by many travelers as a rest stop along I-40. Like several of the Mission 66 projects, this one was not designed to blend into the landscape, but to boldly demonstrate modern architecture.

The visitor center includes the usual information desk, bookstore, restrooms and theater. An excellent 18 minute orientation video, Timeless Impressions, runs continuously in the small theater room that can seat about 30 people. The visitor center complex also includes a fuel station, restaurant, gift shop and convenience store.

Painted Desert Visitor Center

Exhibits and the Information Desk

Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center

The Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center is located near the southern entrance to the park off US 180 about 18 miles southeast of Holbrook, Arizona. The building was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps to be used as the park headquarters. An addition was added to the rear at a much later date. The usual information desk, bookstore, restrooms and theater are housed in the building. Timeless Impressions plays every half hour at this location. In addition, there is a museum with exhibits of petrified wood, fossils and prehistoric animals. Across the large parking area is another building operated by the park concessionaire with a gift shop, snack bar and restrooms. Since the Rainbow Forest Museum is beyond the fee collection station and more than twenty miles from the nearest Interstate exit, it doesn't receive nearly the number of visitors as the Painted Desert Visitor Center. That is unfortunate because there is much more to see and learn at the museum.

Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center

The bookstore area

A museum diorama

More exhibits

A sample of petrified wood

Placerias hesternus

Aetosaur

Please note that Petrified Forest National Park is a day-use area only. Park hours vary depending on the season with longer hours for the longer daylight of summer.

An entry fee of $10 per private vehicle is good for seven consecutive days. Other fee payment options include the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes including the Annual Pass ($80), Senior Pass ($10 for lifetime), Access Pass (free with documented disability) and Military Annual Pass (free for active duty personnel).

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm.