This museum provides a pre-historic view of the area the park is in, detailing the former wildlife of the area as well as how wooden logs turned into the stone logs we see today. Ranger talks are given here so check the schedule to see what is upcoming. You can also check to see if there are any talks scheduled in other areas of the park as well.
Randy was hilarious and gave us some good info about Petrified Forest National Park. The 20-minute video about the history of the park was especially helpful since we came without a lot of prior knowledge about the area.
I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of displays in this little museum. The skeletons were pretty cool. Very informative spot with nice staff.
This is like nothing you have seen before. Petrified logs of wood scattered all around which looks more like colorful rocks. The flowers that grow here are equally beautiful and the Mesa s are so colorful. It's not a commercial park and make sure you plan to spend at least 3 hours. There is so much to see and so many photo opportunities.
The museum is the last place to get water in the park until you reach the Painted Desert Inn, 25 miles (40 km) to the north so stock up on water before heading out. Restrooms are available here. The next restroom is 15 miles (24 km) away at the Puerco Pueblo so plan accordingly. The parking lot has spaces for RVs and buses.
It's also a very good starting point if you're touring the area, since the Giant Logs, Long Longs, and Agate House trails all begin nearby. The trails are pretty short and easy to hike, but when we went it was pretty windy - secure your glasses/hats and wear a windbreaker. After hiking these, it's easy to go north towards the Blue Mesa and Painted Desert Rim trails, as well as other landmarks like Newspaper Rock.
The museum is also the trailhead for the 4/10 mile (0.6 km) Giant Logs trail that starts at the museum's back door. If you don't have the time to drive out to the Crystal Forest, take this trail to get a closeup look at the petrified wood that gives this park its name. The highlight of the trail is 'Old Faithful', a 10' (3 m) diameter petrified log. A free trail guide can be picked up in the museum.
It is quite the barren place but the visitor's center was nice, informative, and easily accessed. We didn't tour the park too long but would like to come back again sometime. Only reason for 1 star off was the overbearing rules about staying off the logs. They brag about how it took 10 hours to cut through the piece inside because it is harder than granite, but somehow the shoes of children is going to damage it? I get it, 1000s of people go though there, but it is harder than rock and isn't going to be damaged by human hands and feet, let the kids climb on it for a picture.
Rainbow Forest Museum is a US Museum based in Holbrook, Arizona. Rainbow Forest Museum is located at 6618 Petrified Forest Rd, Holbrook, AZ 86025, USA.
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