This park, located in the northwest part of Arizona, is very diverse from the standpoint of photo opportunities. There are a variety of painted desert scenes, prehistoric ruins, ancient Indian ruins, and a visitor's center by the south entrance that provides access to a trail that accommodates close-ups of petrified wood.

Please note, to prevent theft of petrified wood the park is gated and MOST importantly, visiting hours are limited from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, "Arizona time"; so depending on the time of year you may miss either sunset or sunrise opportunities. Also note that if you are coming from a distant location in the Navajo Indian Reservation, the reservation (though located in Arizona) observes daylight saving time while the state of Arizona does not; so, be aware it's easy to mess up timing depending on where you are coming from.

There are two entrances to the park.

If you are heading west on I-40 take the exit to the park that is east of Holbrook; this approach to the park will start you out with breath taking views of the painted desert. You can drive through the park all the way down south to the south entrance (don't miss the visitor's center at the south end) and then come back up to I-40 through the town of Holbrook.

Alternatively, if you are heading east on I-40 follow the "to the park" signs, take the first entrance into Holbrook, follow the signs and drive directly to the south entrance of the park; from there, after stopping at the visitor's center, you will make your way up north through the park and can get back on I-40 as you leave the north entrance.

IMPORTANT, please note ... whenever you visit a Pbase gallery for the first time, or if you have clicked on a size smaller than "original size" while visiting this or any other Pbase gallery, please be sure to click on "original" size, otherwise you will be presented with a low quality JPEG as versus the high quality JPEG (the size doesn't change, only the quality level of the JPEG compression); you only have to do this once, on the very first picture you look at.

Alternatively, on the very first picture you can add "/original" to the URL in the address bar and hit "refresh" or "go" as the case may be; again, you only have to do this once (on the very first picture). This "/original to the URL" approach is the sure-fire/no-mistake/best way to ensure you will see the highest quality JPEG presentation.