Petrified Logs

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.3 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 2172 - 2218 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 30 mins.
Trailhead: Petrified Logs
Fee: $10/vehicle
Attractions: petrified logs

The Valley of Fire State Park, near Overton, Nevada, has several short trails where visitors can get up close looks of petrified logs that were created from trees that were present in the area 150 million years ago. This post covers the Petrified Logs trail on the west side of the park.

Martha's Butte

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 2.2 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5575 - 5602 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: Dry Wash
Fee: $20/vehicle
Attractions: Petroglyphs

Martha's Butte is a petroglyph site located in the Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Arizona. The trail begins where the Petrified Forest Road crosses Dry Wash. From there it travels west for almost 1 mile to Martha's Butte. Many of the boulders around the butte are covered with petroglyphs one of which is an image made up of concentric circles that are bisected by a shadow as the sun rises on the summer solstice.

First Forest Point

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 1.6 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5517 - 5606 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: Jasper Forest
Fee: $20/vehicle
Attractions: Scenic views, petrified wood

The First Forest Point trail is located in the Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Arizona. The trail begins at the Jasper Forest trailhead where it travels south along the rim before dropping down into the Jasper Forest area where it then climbs up another hill and continues to a point overlooking the Jasper Forest which was formerly named the First Forest. Along this primitive backcountry trail hikers will be able to see petrified trees that are in the process being exposed to the surface elements as the mountain erodes from around them.

Jasper Forest

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 2.5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5466 - 5571 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: Jasper Forest
Fee: $20/vehicle
Attractions: Large petrified wood collection

The Jasper Forest is located in the Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Arizona. The site has a wheelchair accessible observation point as well as the opportunity for a short backcountry hike. Originally named First Forest because it was the first concentration of petrified wood that visitors to the park would come upon, Jasper Forest is one of the largest concentrations of petrified wood in the park.

Onyx Bridge

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5454 - 5787 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 2 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Painted Desert Inn
Fee: $20/vehicle
Attractions: Petrified wood, petroglyphs

The Onyx Bridge trail is located in the Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Arizona. The trail begins near the Painted Desert Inn in the northern section of the park. From there the trail drops down into the Painted Desert where it travels across Lithodendron Wash to the Onyx Bridge site. This post takes a slight detour en route that leads to some interesting petroglyphs.