The Painted Desert: where rocks morph into fiery colors
The Painted Desert is a vast rocky badlands alongside historic Route 66 that stretches from Arizona’s Grand Canyon to the Petrified Forest. Funny little tidbit: The Painted Desert isn’t a desert at all; it’s actually the largest intact Grassland in the Southwest.
We had no idea the Painted Desert covered such a wide area and we weren’t sure what to expect from this national park. The park receives little to no recognition, or visitors, in comparison to its neighbor the Grand Canyon, and to be perfectly honest we weren’t convinced it was worth freezing our butts off (it was 20 degrees) or the drive.
What eventually sparked our interest was the rumor of how the park received its name: While standing at the edge of this vast badlands a Spanish explorer is claimed to announce “El Desierto Pintado” after watching the vibrant colors light up the landscape at sunset. Sounds like a photographers Dream right? Could this area possibly live up to such a name, or deserve the National Park status?
We started our visit at the Petrified Forest which had us locked in frozen stares and posing as dinosaurs, but when the sun set and the Painted Desert lit up like a fire cracker, we were awe struck. Rocks came in every hue from deep lavenders and rich grays to oranges, pinks and fiery reds. It seemed wherever the sun kissed the rocks the view would morph and burst into a radiant display of Technicolor.
These are scenes from story books and fairy tales, the place where mystical creatures magically appear with the touch of the sun….or, at least that’s what we were thinking. What actually created this visual masterpiece was millions of years of violent volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and floods, not magic (or was it). If that doesn’t get your brain swirling with visuals and thought, the sight of perfectly striped layers of sandstone and clay ought to do the trick.
So, if you haven’t figured it out by now, we can see how the park got its name.
From our experience the Painted Desert is best at Sunrise and Sunset as the colors truly ‘pop’ off nature’s canvas. Don’t expect more than a few roadside pullouts as we were let down with the lack of hiking in this area (there is the Rim Trail however it is flat and not much different than the scenery you’ll see while driving). The Painted Desert Inn was closed both times we passed by, which is a shame as the recent restoration looks beautiful (don’t expect to stay at the inn, or see it at night like the Park Website shows as the park closes at Dusk). So the short of it: If you’re planning a visit to the Petrified Forest make sure you swing by the Painted Desert and make sure you’re there for Sunset!
Jannette
Greetings!
Thank you for this blog! I am planning a trip out West and I am looking for answers to random questions about the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest areas. We will be entering the park from Flagstaff area so it will take us about 2 hours. I want to see the desert at sunset so my question is: What is the best area to stop to see the sunset and still have enough time to get out of the park before the 6pm close time? Also, is there anything else in the area to do during the day? Is a day trip enough? Do you have any restaurant recommendations?
Thank you in advance for any suggestions, nice blog BTW.
Cheers,
Jannette
Mike Goad
Painted Desert Inn is a renovated National Historic Landmark that functions solely as a museum and bookstore. We visited it in October 2011. The Painted Desert is not a National Park. It’s actually an extensive badlands desert that covers a large area between Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest. A significant portion of it lies on Navajo lands.
I’ve got some pictures of the inn, interior and exterior, on my Petrified Forest and Painted Desert album on Flickr.
Jason Wynn
Mike,
The portion of the Painted Desert we visited was part of the Petrified Forest National Park, which as you point out is only a tiny piece of the beauty.
Thanks for sharing the photos.
Eric
My wife and I stopped there in our “Big Holes” tour ( Grand Canyon to Meteor Crater ) and it was great.
Nikki Wynn
I love that you called it the Big Holes tour! Do you have posts from that trip? If so, leave a link in the comments I would love to see the meteor crater.
Thom Hoch
I can find no reference to a “Painted Desert National Park” on the NPS website. Nor is such a thing listed in Wikipedia under National Parks of the United States. What am I missing?
Nikki Wynn
Sorry Thom, I know there is very very little info on the painted desert on NPS website. It’s under the information for the petrified forest. It’s all one park. one tiny portion is considered the painted desert however it spans a vast area.
Michael Kennedy
Niiki looks a lot like my little puppy PBJ.
Lol – miss you guys.
Jason Wynn
Of course you would comment on the fashion of this post ;). Miss you guys too, but don’t worry we’ll be passing through CO again soon.
Jenn - Newschool Nomads
I was looking forward to seeing your Painted Desert pictures and I am not disappointed. Beautiful!!! (I love the one of Nikki) We went at sunset and I thought it was magical.
Nikki Wynn
Jenn, do you have a post about your stop to the painted desert? If so, reply with a link, I would love to see it!
Lisa Wood
Haven’t heard of the Painted Desert before, but its sounds magical.
Somethings are worth the cold temperature and it sure looks like this place is 🙂
Funny how the Painted Dessert Inn wasn’t open – you would think with recent renovations they would want business.
Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos.
Carol Ann
It looks beautiful and wish I had taken the time to see it when we were in the area.
Jason Wynn
Carol Ann, if you pass through Northern Arizona again the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert NP are both worth a visit. Safe travels.