Petrified Forest National Park

Permit Information

NPS Special Use Permit required for weddings and ceremonies. Fee is not published on the park website; contact the Special Use Permit Coordinator for the current amount and application form. Weddings may be scheduled up to one year in advance. Small weddings typically take place at Jasper Forest, with Pintado Point as another option. Phone 928 524 6822 x0 or write to Petrified Forest NP, PO Box 2217, Petrified Forest, AZ 86028, Attn: Special Use Permit Coordinator.

Planning Your Day at Petrified Forest National Park

One-Spot Day

Petrified Forest is a 28 mile drive from the north entrance off I 40 to the south entrance near Holbrook, with roughly a dozen pullouts and short trails along the way. You can drive the full park in a leisurely three hours with ceremony and portraits included, it is the most driveable National Park in the system. Most couples pair one northern stop (Painted Desert Rim at Kachina or Tawa Point for wider badlands views) with one southern stop (Crystal Forest or Blue Mesa for petrified wood detail). If you want ceremony and portraits in the same location, Painted Desert Rim is the easiest, it has wide rim space, paved paths, and direct restroom access at the visitor center.

Ceremony + Portraits Split

The Special Use Permit Coordinator traditionally directs small weddings to Jasper Forest (badlands amphitheater) or Pintado Point (wide Painted Desert overlook). Other park locations like Painted Desert Rim or Blue Mesa are permittable but require coordinator approval and are less commonly used. Contact the coordinator before committing to a specific site, they will tell you what is currently workable for your date and group size. Phone 928 524 6822 x0. Book at least 4 to 6 weeks ahead, more if you want one of the less standard sites.

A Note on Light

The Painted Desert is at its color best in the first and last hour of daylight. Sunrise light pushes from the east and saturates the red and orange bands facing west, sunset does the reverse. Midday here is harsh and flat, the bands wash out under direct overhead sun. Winter light (November through February) is the most saturated of the year because the sun angle stays low all day. Summer midday heat is brutal (often 95 to 105 F by 1pm), so morning ceremonies are the realistic option June through August. The park closes at sunset, which means no true blue hour or astro shooting unless you have a special use permit covering after hours access.

Ceremony Spots at Petrified Forest National Park

• Blue Mesa — Ceremony among blue banded badlands hills and ancient petrified logs
• Crystal Forest — Easy walk among dense concentrations of colorful petrified logs in a desert landscape
• Painted Desert Rim — Sweeping ceremony overlooking striped badlands in red, orange, purple, and white stretching to the horizon