National Park·Arizona·148,237 acres
Petrified Forest National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Hard frost Wednesday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Petrified Forest National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Petrified Forest National Park around Oct 17, and the four days to aim for are Oct 16 to 19.
That's 2 days earlier than our model alone would say, because this season's reports from the ground moved it.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Nearly peak | |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Peak color | 5,250 to 5,500 ft, 5,500 to 5,750 ft, 5,750 to 6,000 ft |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Peak color | |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Just past peak |
- 5,750–6,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 168%
- 5,500–5,750 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1755%
- 5,250–5,500 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1737%
Height off 3DEP inside the park’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the park stands in it.
That’s 2 days earlier than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.
The place
Two hundred and twenty-five million years ago, these were actual trees. Now they are solid quartz, snapped into cross-sections and scattered across the Painted Desert like someone knocked over the world's oldest lumber yard. Petrified Forest holds one of the largest concentrations of petrified wood on earth, and the banded colors in the logs (reds, yellows, purples) look fake until you kneel down and realize they are stone.
Established 1962. About 800,000/year visitors.
If you can only come on certain days
Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.
Friday, October 16 to Saturday, October 17
You’ll find it peak color.
That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.
- 5,500–5,750 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 17
- 5,250–5,500 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 17
- What turns
- quaking aspen, Gambel oak, bigtooth maple, serviceberry
- Entrance
- $25
What turns, and when
- quaking aspen43%
- Gambel oak29%
- bigtooth maple14%
- serviceberry14%
Also named across Arizona, outside what the canopy read measures here: Arizona Sycamore, Fremont Cottonwood.
Aspens on the San Francisco Peaks turn gold above 8,000 feet, Gambel oaks go orange and russet at mid-elevations, and cottonwoods line the creek bottoms in butter yellow.
Questions people ask about Petrified Forest National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Petrified Forest National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Petrified Forest National Park around Oct 17, and the four days to aim for are Oct 16 to 19.
- Where is the best fall color at Petrified Forest National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is leaves down. The last band to peak was 5,250 to 5,500 feet, around Oct 17.
- How long does peak last at Petrified Forest National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 16 to 19, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive.
- Is Petrified Forest National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 17, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
- What trees turn color at Petrified Forest National Park?
Quaking Aspen, Bigtooth Maple, Gambel Oak, Arizona Sycamore, Fremont Cottonwood. Aspens on the San Francisco Peaks turn gold above 8,000 feet, Gambel oaks go orange and russet at mid-elevations, and cottonwoods line the creek bottoms in butter yellow.
- Is there an entrance fee at Petrified Forest National Park?
Entrance fee $25.
This forecast is built from the species that stand here, their elevation and this September’s weather, and corrected in season by cameras, foresters and our own crew. Out here we score it against NASA's satellite record of when the canopy shuts down, read inside each unit’s own boundary: two dates in three land within 12 days of it. How this map is made
Nearby, and when they turn
Apache-Sitgreaves is on the map above, with its own date.
- Peak Oct 22 best Oct 21 to 24
- Peak Oct 31 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Peak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23
- Peak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
- Peak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23