Long Logs Trail, Petrified Forest National Park
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Long Logs Trail
At the end of a service road (closed to vehicles), the Long Logs Trail gives perhaps the most impressive views in the park - a 1.6 mile circular path that passes hundreds of large, beautifully colored examples, some over 30 feet in length
Length: 1.6 miles (loop)
Elevation change: 50 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Type: Loop
Usage: High
Season: All year
Trailhead: Parking lot at Rainbow Forest Museum
Rating (1-5): ★★★★★
Elevation change: 50 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Type: Loop
Usage: High
Season: All year
Trailhead: Parking lot at Rainbow Forest Museum
Rating (1-5): ★★★★★
The Long Logs Trail has claim to be the best of the short paths in Petrified Forest National Park, winding through scattered mounds and badlands liberally strewn with huge, especially colorful petrified logs, up to 100 feet in length, surrounded by open terrain with long distance views in most directions, and bordered by a low ridge to the north.
The path used to start from the end of a short paved side road but like several other roads in the park this was closed many years ago the hike now begins from the main parking lot at Rainbow Forest, near the south entrance to the park, and involves a round-trip walk of 1.6 miles, initially along the old road, then a 0.7 mile loop. The wood forms part of a typical high desert landscape, of stony ground, sparse grass, cacti and occasional wildflowers, including the brightly-colored golden mariposa lily.
An optional continuation, a third of a mile one way, is along the Agate House Trail, which crosses a more barren area with fewer logs to the party restored remains of a pueblo, constructed of blocks of petrified wood around 700 years ago, thought to have been occupied only briefly.
The loop is paved although somewhat uneven in places, but should be suitable for wheelchairs and similar, while the Agate House spur is paved at first, transitioning to smooth gravel.
Because the path is somewhat removed from the parking area, the Long Logs Trail sees rather fewer people than the otherwise similar Crystal Forest Trail, 6 miles north. From the Rainbow Forest parking, visitors walk along the main road a short distance, across the bridge over Jim Camp Wash, to the start of the disused road. The first 0.4 miles is along this route which has been reduced in which to about a half - over grassy flats, initially lacking any petrified wood. The road ends in a little loop where vehicles once turned around; the actual trail loop starts on the far side. In the clockwise direction, this heads northwest towards a line of low mounds, grey or purplish, around which the first really long logs appear, many right beside the path. The trail at one point passes between two of the mounds, continuing across more open ground with smaller, more scattered logs, back to the start of the loop, near which is a small shelter; the spur to Agate House starts on the far side.
The path used to start from the end of a short paved side road but like several other roads in the park this was closed many years ago the hike now begins from the main parking lot at Rainbow Forest, near the south entrance to the park, and involves a round-trip walk of 1.6 miles, initially along the old road, then a 0.7 mile loop. The wood forms part of a typical high desert landscape, of stony ground, sparse grass, cacti and occasional wildflowers, including the brightly-colored golden mariposa lily.
An optional continuation, a third of a mile one way, is along the Agate House Trail, which crosses a more barren area with fewer logs to the party restored remains of a pueblo, constructed of blocks of petrified wood around 700 years ago, thought to have been occupied only briefly.
The loop is paved although somewhat uneven in places, but should be suitable for wheelchairs and similar, while the Agate House spur is paved at first, transitioning to smooth gravel.
The Trail
Because the path is somewhat removed from the parking area, the Long Logs Trail sees rather fewer people than the otherwise similar Crystal Forest Trail, 6 miles north. From the Rainbow Forest parking, visitors walk along the main road a short distance, across the bridge over Jim Camp Wash, to the start of the disused road. The first 0.4 miles is along this route which has been reduced in which to about a half - over grassy flats, initially lacking any petrified wood. The road ends in a little loop where vehicles once turned around; the actual trail loop starts on the far side. In the clockwise direction, this heads northwest towards a line of low mounds, grey or purplish, around which the first really long logs appear, many right beside the path. The trail at one point passes between two of the mounds, continuing across more open ground with smaller, more scattered logs, back to the start of the loop, near which is a small shelter; the spur to Agate House starts on the far side.
Video of the Long Logs Trail
Long Logs Trail - Similar Hikes
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