National park · Holbrook, AZ
Petrified Forest National Park
What the source pages say
There is no RV, car, or front country camping in the park.
nps.gov, read Sep 24, 2026The park is open year round except Thanksgiving and Christmas .
nps.gov, read Sep 24, 2026
Going to Petrified Forest National Park? Tell us the nights.
One email when an Arizona owner lists a rig for those nights.
Petrified Forest National Park questions
- What length RV fits Petrified Forest National Park?
- RV camping: None in the park — per nps.gov, read Sep 24, 2026.
- Is there a dump station at Petrified Forest National Park?
- Petrified Forest National Park's own pages gave no dump-station detail we could read on Sep 24, 2026. Check the official park site before you go.
- Can I run a generator at Petrified Forest National Park?
- Our record: generators are not allowed.
- When is the camping season at Petrified Forest National Park?
- Park open: Year-round, not Thanksgiving or Christmas — per nps.gov, read Sep 24, 2026.
PickRV
Published by PickRV
Official park page confirmed live on July 25, 2026.
More on Petrified Forest National ParkField notes, rig limits by loop, seasons, what to do, quiet spots
Petrified Forest National Park sprawls across 221,390 acres of the Painted Desert badlands in northeastern Arizona, about 26 miles east of Holbrook. A single 28-mile park road links the north entrance at Interstate 40 (Exit 311) to the south entrance on US Highway 180. Unlike most national parks, there is no campground here — no RV, car, or front-country camping of any kind. The road is gated and the whole park closes at night (roughly 8am to 5pm, longer in summer). The only legal overnight inside the boundary is backpacking into the designated wilderness with a free permit. RVers day-trip the road and sleep at private parks near Holbrook.
The notes below are PickRV's editorial record. Only the figures in the strip at the top of the page, each with its link and date, were re-read on the park's own pages.
What the official site doesn't tell you
PickRV editor's field notes
NPS.gov says plainly there is no campground, but RVers still show up at dusk expecting to pull over and sleep — the part that catches people is that the entire park is gated and locked at night, so even a quick boondock in a pullout is impossible; you will be escorted out before close. The workaround locals use: Crystal Forest Gift Shop & Campground sits literally at the south gate and offers FREE dry camping if your rig is self-contained (no water, no dump, $10 for electric in summer heat), so you can stage there, hit the road the instant the gate opens, and beat the I-40 tour-bus wave. Across the street, the Petrified Forest Gift Shop & RV Park takes rigs to about 45ft with 30-amp ($25) and 50-amp ($35) sites. For full hookups and a dump, the Holbrook/Petrified Forest KOA and OK RV Park in Holbrook are the only real options — there is no dump station anywhere inside the park, so empty tanks before you arrive. Also: it is a federal felony to pocket even a pebble of petrified wood; rangers run vehicle exit checks.
Rig limits by loop and road
Length + clearance
- ·Park-wide, our record: 45 ft
- ·Main 28-mile park road (north to south, I-40 to US-180): 45 ft — Wide paved two-lane with pullouts; no length limit posted, but the road is day-use only and gated overnight — you cannot park a rig in the park to sleep
- ·Blue Mesa spur and several scenic overlook lots have short, tight parking with limited big-rig turning room — scout before committing a 40ft+ rig
- ·No tunnels or low bridges on the park road; the real constraint is the overnight gate closure, not clearance
Dump + generator
- ·Dump station: none inside the park — plan for the nearest off-park one
- ·Generators: not allowed
Boondock alternative within At the south entrance — ~18 mi from Holbrook; self-contained only, tents not allowed
Crystal Forest Gift Shop & Campground at the south (US-180) gate — free dry camping for self-contained rigs (no water, no dump); $10 electric in heat
Seasons and closures
Full season: Year-round, open daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas (Mountain Standard Time all year — Arizona skips Daylight Saving)
Limited access: Winter mornings the gate can stay locked until staff clear ice/snow from the road; summer monsoon (Jun 15 - Sep 30) brings flash-flood risk on washes and dirt pullouts
Known closures:
- ·Park road and gates close overnight every day — standard 8am-5pm, extended in summer; arrive too early or too late and you are locked out, no exceptions for RVs
- ·Backcountry/wilderness permits issued in person at a visitor center only, and only until 4:30pm on your hike date
- ·Monsoon thunderstorms (mid-Jun through Sep) can briefly close dirt access and the Blue Mesa area for safety
What to do at Petrified Forest National Park
- Blue Mesa
- Banded blue-gray-purple badlands; the 1mi paved loop and 3mi descent trail are the photo highlight — park is a small lot, scout it before swinging a long rig in
- Crystal Forest
- 0.75mi paved loop through the densest petrified-wood field; flat and accessible, but the trailhead lot fills midday
- Painted Desert overlooks (Tawa, Kachina, Tiponi Points)
- First stretch of the road from the north entrance; Painted Desert Inn historic landmark sits here, open 9am-4pm
- Route 66 alignment pullout
- A rusted 1932 Studebaker marks where the old Mother Road once crossed the park — quick, RV-friendly roadside stop
Hidden — not on the official map
PickRV editor's quiet spots
Newspaper Rock petroglyphs
650+ ancestral Puebloan carvings viewed from an overlook with spotting scopes — most rush past it between Blue Mesa and the south end
Agate House pueblo
An 8-room dwelling built entirely from petrified wood (~1050-1300 AD); 2mi round-trip from the Rainbow Forest end, far fewer crowds than Crystal Forest
Painted Desert Wilderness (backpack-in)
Free permit at a visitor center by 4:30pm, camp 0.5mi+ from your vehicle — no water, no toilets, but some of Arizona's darkest skies
Arizona scenery around Petrified Forest National Park
Landscapes from around Arizona — the country you cross on a Petrified Forest National Park RV trip.
Weather, air, sky and park alerts right nowLive for Petrified Forest National Park. Open-Meteo, sunrise-sunset.org, National Park Service alerts.
Will my rig fit? Try your lengthChecks a length against the park caps in our record.
Keep planning Arizona
More Arizona parks
This guide is provided for general informational purposes only. PickRV is not an insurer, legal advisor, or vehicle-safety authority. Trip planning, route selection, rig suitability, weather, and emergency decisions are the renter's responsibility. Always consult the rig manufacturer's owner's manual, your insurance provider, the U.S. National Park Service (nps.gov), NOAA / NWS weather alerts (weather.gov), state and local emergency-management agencies, and current local regulations before and during travel. Cost figures, season windows, road conditions, and fee references on this page are estimates as of May 2026 and vary by season, location, rig, carrier, and operator. Mentions of brand names, state-tourism marks, national-park feature names, or third-party programs are informational only and do not imply affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement.
Arizona rules to know before you rent
Per-state legal callout · AZ
Before you rent in Arizona — key local rules
Class D operator license covers personal motorhomes under 26,001 lbs
Arizona does NOT require CDL for personal-use motorhomes under 26,001 lbs GVWR (ARS §28-3101). Standard Class D covers most Class A/B/C motorhomes. Out-of-state visitors with valid home-state license are honored.
Arizona Revised Statutes §28-3101 · verified 2026-08-02
No mandatory state boater education (USCG rules apply)
Arizona has no mandatory boater education for adults. Operators of personal watercraft under 16 must complete a state-approved safety course. AZGFD offers free voluntary classes for all ages.
Arizona Game & Fish — Boating · verified 2026-05-24
Arizona OHV Decal mandatory ($25/yr) on most OHVs
Arizona requires an annual OHV Decal ($25 in 2026) on every OHV operated on public land, including BLM/USFS in AZ. AZGFD enforces. Helmet required for ATV/OHV operators under 18.
ADOT — OHV Decal · verified 2026-05-24
0.08% BAC; open container banned in the passenger compartment (ARS §4-251)
Arizona's standard DUI threshold is 0.08% (ARS §28-1381); ARS §28-1382 is the separate EXTREME DUI offence, which starts at 0.15% and rises again at 0.20% — it says nothing about open containers. The open-container rule is ARS §4-251: an open container of spirituous liquor may not be possessed in the passenger compartment of a vehicle on a public highway. Living-quarters use while parked is permitted; store anything open in a non-passenger area while underway.
Arizona Revised Statutes §4-251 · verified 2026-08-01