Blue Forest and Blue Mesa Trails

Petrified Forest National Park, AZ Lower Colorado Plateau

Trip stats

Distance
4.1 mi
Net Gain
500 ft
Time
1-2 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 1
Route
Loop

Ratings out of 10

Effort
1.3/10
Personality
6/10
Beauty
7/10
Solitude
3.1/10
What do these mean? →

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

34.942993, -109.777748

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

May 10, 2017 — This hike follows an old trail in Petrified Forest National Park that is no longer "official", but is still well-worn enough that it shouldn't be too much trouble to follow. After leaving the trailhead and leading through the flat desert, the trail winds through the gorgeous blue and purple landscape for a while and then joins with the paved and popular hike called the Blue Mesa Trail. For this short loop section (orange on my map) I follow the easy, paved trail around a gorgeous series of brightly colored dirt piles with great overlooks into the Painted Desert. I hiked up to the popular Blue Mesa Trailhead (coordintes here: 34.9392911, -109.7563827) before getting back onto the Blue Forest trail to complete the loop.

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Photos

59 photos

  1. Starting along the old dirt road, the remains of the old trail, from the trailhead.
  2. Remnants of a sign pointing up the abandoned trail.
  3. Looking back at the dirt road I came in on.
  4. The trail leads up into the hills of "Blue Forest".
  6. Looking back toward the ridge I came up.
  9. Crazy colors in an interesting landscape.
  11. Lots of petrified wood pockets along the trail.
  12. Some small hoodoos.
  15. The trail gains a few hundred feet of elevation, following a lumpy route.
  16. The trail wraps around a few steeper sections where it was carved in the sides of the hills.
  25. Nearing the high point before dropping down toward the Blue Mesa Trail.
  29. A very pretty short section of ridge walking on one of the mounds.
  31. View down into the crazy purple bands.
  34. A view into one of the drainages littered with petrified wood.
  36. More petrified wood.
  40. The Blue Forest Trail intersects the Blue Mesa Trail. Either follow the paved loop or just head back.
  41. I chose to take the paved trail to see more goodies.
  42. A particularly interesting piece of petrified wood.
  45. Junction for the Blue Mesa Trail, forming the loop. I went up to the Blue Mesa parking lot to see the overlook.
  46. A beautiful lookout at the start of the Blue Mesa Trail.
  47. Now I had to get back, so I went back along the paved Blue Mesa Trail.
  48. The trail drops down into the drainages below.
  49. Paved trail, but spectacular scenery.
  54. I followed the Blue Mesa Trail until I got back to the spot where I joined the Blue Mesa Trail, then took the Blue Forest Trail back the way I came.
  56. Summer 2014: First time I did this hike. Petrified wood looking all pretty.
  57. Summer 2014: First time I did this hike. A beautiful lookout at the start of the Blue Mesa Trail.
  58. Summer 2014: First time I did this hike. Overlooking the blue mesas from the trail.
  59. Summer 2014: First time I did this hike. The trail goes down there.

Photo 1 of 1

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Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

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