crystal forest – RVing With a Purpose

May 16, 2026

Continuing with our travels on May 4, after leaving Bisti Badlands, we crossed over into Arizona. We drove about 4 hours and then exited I 40 and entered the Petrified Forest National Park located in northeastern Arizona. It is a high-desert famous for its massive amounts of 225 million year old crystallized wood and the painted desert badlands. It is also the only US national park that protects a section of historic Route 66. We entered the park’s north entrance and stopped at the Painted Desert Inn which is currently serving as the welcome center while improvements are being made to the older welcome center. We drove through the park stopping at a few scenic overlooks for pictures and exited the south entrance, spending the night at Crystal Forest Campground (free). It was getting late. This was a momentous day. By spending the night in Arizona, we now have spent the night in all 49 states reachable by RV. We have been to Hawaii too, but they haven’t yet built a bridge.

Crystal Forest Campground allows free camping for RVs

Sunset at the southern entrance of Petrified Forest NP

The next morning, May 5, we re-entered the park from the south and stopped at the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center. We wanted to get a Dark Sky Permit which would grant us permission to spend the night in the park. We had to drive back to the northern welcome center to actually get the permit, (Google told us we could get permit at either location – wrong!) but we were able to acquire one of the only 3 permits issued each day. The permit allowed us to spend the night at one of 3 locations in the northern end of the park so we could do some nighttime photography as well as sunrise pictures. After acquiring the permit we had the rest of the day to experience the park.

The Dark Sky Permit allows you to be in the park after hours, but you must stay in one of the designated parking areas until the park reopens.

The yucca plants were starting to bloom.

As we were driving back to the north end of the park we saw this storm on the horizon…

Just to avoid any confusion about the time in Arizona

The only dark sky we had was from storms so we didn’t get any night photos. The next morning was beautiful as we drove back through the park to pick up Old Route 66 again. We stopped along the way to take a few more pictures.

On Wednesday morning when we left our overnight parking spot there was still hail accumulated on the side of the road

The high desert still has pretty flowers.

This is an amazing park. You can see this park in two ways. Many people do quick half day or less drive through visits and you can see a lot but probably won’t be that impressed. However, if you allow yourself about 1 ½ to 2 days to visit the park we think you will be really impressed. We’ve never seen as much petrified wood of all different colors and shapes and the Painted Desert is beautiful. There are a number of short hikes and a few longer ones that we recommend as well. Lastly, it was a really cool experience to be in the park after everyone else (except rangers) were gone. It was so quiet and peaceful. We recommend this park and enjoyed it more than we expected.