Puerco Ridge/Rainbow Forest
Evidence of early human occupation is readily visible on the landscape. Sites throughout this region tell of human history in the area for more than 10,000 years, over the course of which there was a cultural transition from wandering families to settled agricultural villages -- pueblos -- and trading ties with surrounding villages. Although evidence of these early people fades around 1400 A.D., their story remains to be told through their dwellings, pot sherds, and petroglyphs.

Permit Information
A free permit must be obtained for overnight wilderness camping. Permits are available at the Painted Desert Visitor Center.

Directions
Petrified Forest stretches between Interstate 40 and U.S. 180. Visitors traveling west on Interstate 40 should exit at milepost # 311, then drive south.

Information Center
The Visitor Center is located in the Painted Desert Region of the park near I-40 at milepost # 311.

Activities