National Arches and Petrified Forest National Parks

[emily_in_nc]

I've been to both and would definitely recommend Arches National Park (it's not called "National Arches", btw) for hiking. It is absolutely gorgeous, and there are lots of trails of different difficulty levels. Once you get about a mile from any parking lot, you'll encounter many fewer tourists on the trails.

Petrified Forest is mostly a driving thing, though there are some short hiking trails. It's fascinating too, but not nearly as much to see, and it's mostly just flat, open land. If you can only go to one, Arches is the way to go. Also, if staying in the Moab area, Canyonlands National Park is also nearby and is stunning, with many amazing hikes. I highly recommend it.

We did a blog when we visited many southwest parks in 2006. I can't believe it's been 10 years! If you are interested, they are here:

Petrified Forest NP: http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/sw-parks-page-7.html
Arches NP: http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/sw-parks-pg-11.html
Canyonlands NP: http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/sw-parks-pg-12.html

I didn't know much about blogging way back then and did it as one LONG report with no easy way to negotiate between pages, but the content of the individual pages may still be helpful to you.

P.S. We did not do any mountain biking back then, but my former manager used to go to Moab every year and raved about the MTBing. He was a much more advanced mountain biker than I, however.

[Pax]

I'm with Emily 100% on this one, much more to see and do in/around Arches.

[Catrin]

Thanks for the tip - now that I think about it my main exposure years ago to the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert was driving. Thanks for the blog links Emily!

[Jean_TZ]

I totally agree with Emily and Pax -- Moab/Arches will be way more interesting. Aside from the many trails to hike (and photograph) at Arches, Moab itself has some attractions (mountain biking at Slickrock and, depending on the season, white water rafting on the Colorado River).

Jean

[BikeDutchess]

I've never been to the Petrified Forest, so my enthusiastic endorsement for Arches NP (and nearby Canyonlands NP and Dead Horse Point SP) is very biased. Moab is known for its many great mountain biking options (from beginner to advanced), but there is also beautiful road biking to be done. One MTB trail I can recommend is the Klondike Bluffs trail - it's doable for a beginner/intermediate, and it will take you to a gorgeous overlook of Arches NP.

I don't know what time of year you are planning to go, but I recommend spring or fall. It gets extremely hot in the summer.

[rebeccaC]

4 or 5 + (whatever the number) for Arches

You could spend a few weeks doing all the incredible hikes around Moab. I was there for the first time last Sept and had a wonderful time…..road riding especially though. I looked at ( this ) before we left. The sandstone fins in a canyon hike we did were just magical. Lots of stunning visuals to sketch all through the Park. I’d luv to go back and spend a few days from sunrise to sunset hiking and photographing in Arches.

[azfiddle]

I agree with all the above comments. I love Arches... haven't been there for many years though.