escalante petrified forest state park

I guess on it's own, this would be a really cool place, but given the vicinity of all the awesome slot canyons, it is a bit of a letdown. Chance to swim though, which is a big plus in a the summer.

We came all the way from Bryce Canyon to see the petrified forest and were somewhat disappointed because our expectations were much higher. After seeing a few large pieces of beautifully petrified trees at the Rock Shop in the Bryce City Market, I guess we expected to face a full forest of them once getting to the top of the trail, according to the park's name.However, getting over our inflated misinterpretation of the attraction's description... the hike is awesome, not very difficult, however, quite steep at times. Come prepared with drinking water, good hiking shoes and a hat since there is hardly any shade all the way up. After about 45 minutes to one hour, depending on your pace, the trail will level and yes, you will find - if you are paying close attention to the ground - a few nice petrified trees, laying around, some of the marked. They are amazing indeed. Read their full story posted by the parking lot, before going up or after you come back down, to find out how they were created in time.If you had the strength and patience to hike to the top, find a good vantage point to admire the campground below and the lake. It really makes up for it if you - like us - may have expected to see more petrified trees than there really are.

We hiked the trail before sunset and were the ONLY ones there. Utah has some fantastic state parks and Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is among them. We had a great time. The trail was very relaxing and took about an hour or so. We are from the east coast and don't have these state or national treasures. The large pieces of petrified wood are a wonder and must be seen if you have a chance to stop by and are willing to walk the trail.

We only had time to hike the first loop before dark, but we saw a lot of wonderful pieces. Most had a marker, but one grouping did not, so keep your eyes open. There are igneous rocks up there as well...basalt, perhaps? There are also several pieces of a petrified tree that total up to 40 feet that are adjacent to the parking lot (not the ones by the restrooms). The ranger said that this tree was found in (and moved from) GSENM. Never seen any petrified wood this big!

Stopped here in April. My son and I saw the sign for the State Park and decided to pull off and check it out. Right off the main highway and was only $10 to enter. Not many facilities here but looked like they had a nice picnic area with shelters. The hike was uphill and very scenic. After a while it levels off and then you start seeing the petrified wood everywhere. Very plentiful and very colorful. Was almost in the middle of our drive between 2 National Parks so it was a great opportunity to break up the long drive. Only takes about 60-90 minutes depending on how much you want to walk around looking at the petrified wood. Any other part of the country this would be a destination place but in this beautiful part of Utah it is just one of many Natural Wonders. If you have the time to spare it is well worth stopping.

Had lunch at a picnic table next to the lake - very few visitors that day, so it was peaceful and quiet. Then set off up the hill on the trail to see the petrified forest. Decided to take the extension walk - well worth it as there is much more to see than on the main trail (and the colours were just amazing). Set aside a couple of hours to do it justice.

We stayed in this campground for four nights while we hiked the lower calf creek and visited and hiked in Bryce Canyon. The campground is well cared for and secluded away from the highway. The showers were great and the staff very helpful. I would have given five stars except they did not recycle the trash. Lots of plastic, cardboard and glass into the landfill :(.

Quick overnight on a tour through Southern Utah. Nice loop hike to view Petrified Trees. Developed campground, SHOWERS! Nice reservoir with quackers and honkers. Did I mention SHOWERS. They were a plus for us.

You need to be able to hike to get into the petrified forest. Not too strenuous. We really enjoyed the hike and the beautiful petrified wood along the way. There is also a good view of the city of Escalante. Be sure and read the information about how the petrified wood is formed, with minerals that fill up the xylem to create wonderful colors.

We were in an RV with our grandkids and our site was quite close to another camper but everyone was very friendly. The lake is just a few steps away and we went fishing. Did not catch anything but in asking the locals it sounds like it can be good at times. There are some petrified logs close to the campground in an area were the ranger apparently gives talks. However the fun is hiking the trail which has a nice point by point guide you can pick up at the trailhead. The numbered trail markers indicate something of interest well covered by the guide. I highly recommend going beyond the basic loop to a really outstanding area of petrified logs that are just about everywhere you look. They are beautifully colored in the right light. It is not that much further and the trail is clear but gets a bit steep in and back out. Anyone in fair shape and good knees can make it. Because the trail goes over the top of the bluff you get a great view of the campground and lake. I concur with others that the showers are first rate. Enjoyed our stay very much.

A short hike with a great view overlooking the lake. If the climb is too much for some, there are petrified wood stumps/pieces on the valley floor for easy access.

We camped here when we visited GSENM. It is a very nice campground. We had a nice flat pad for our tent and a covered picnic table. The bathrooms had very nice showers - a huge bonus! There were about 8 showers and I never had to wait.

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is located just off Highway 12 between Escalante and Henrieville, approximately 44 miles East of Bryce Canyon National Park. The park is next to Wide Hollow Reservoir and offers a camping area that we didn't use.As we pulled up to the Ranger Station, we were greeted by a cheerful Ranger who asked, "Got your hiking boots on?". They explained about the trails and what we'd see and gave us a brief rundown of the park services.We wanted to come and see the Petrified Forest as it's known for its large collection of petrified wood. From the parking area to the right of the Ranger Station, we took the 1-mile Petrified Forest Trail up the side of the mesa, taking a trail map from the trail head pavilion before we started as it explains what you'll see along the way. The trail is quite steep and we'd strongly recommend that you take hiking boots and, if you use them, hiking poles. Water is a must in Utah. The trail winds up through the mesa and there are numbered markers along the way telling you about different sights on the trail.At the top of the mesa we took the Trail of Sleeping Rainbows, a .75 mile round-trip trail that drops down the side of the mesa and shows many, many more examples of the petrified forest.It's beyond me how other reviewers could say they didn't see any petrified wood at this park. My only explanation is that they didn't walk the trails. Unless they are expecting to see an entire upright forest of petrified wood (which means you didn't read the park brochure, which clearly explains how the petrified forest came in to being) they couldn't have missed it! The trees are everywhere! I've never seen so many examples of petrified wood. Just to be completely clear there aren't any fossilized tree stumps or fossilized standing trees on the trail. The examples are of fallen trees that were uprooted 135 - 155 million years ago and then buried in mud during period of flooding. This means that they are lying on their sides, just like a fallen tree would. No-where does the park allude to there being standing trees, tree stumps or anything similar. It is called Petrified Forest State Park as this is what it is. Just because others have made an assumption and didn't visit the parks' website (http://stateparks.utah.gov/park/escalante-petrified-forest-state-park) before visiting and gave this place a bad review doesn't mean you should drive on. The trees are everywhere. In some places you even had to step on them as you walked the trail. The colors are just beautiful and make for great macro photography.The park isn't huge, but it'd highly recommend taking the time to hike the trail to see so many examples of petrified wood and also the large amounts of volcanic pumice rock. It didn't take more than a couple of hours (at most) to hike the trails and it was well worth the effort.I'd absolutely recommend Escalante Petrified Forest State Park if you are driving past.

It was a steep climb to the top but short and easily manageable. The reward was the amazingly well preserved logs and tree trunks when the forest was petrified. I can't recommend it highly enough

If you're expecting to walk through a forest of petrified tree stumps then don't bother coming. If you have a couple of hours, like to do moderately strenuous hiking with some nice vistas as well as an abundance of interesting and beautiful petrified wood underfoot then this might be for you. My wife and I stopped here on our way from Bryce to Escalante and found this to be pretty cool. I'd suggest you take the optional extended loop trail if you can (it adds distance and is a bit more strenuous). It not only had some additional nice views, it also had hundreds of pieces at least of the wood everywhere along the trail. Partially buried, being eroded out of the ground, laying loose....and of all sizes including pieces nearly as large as the piece at the last viewpoint on the main trail. Whereas the pieces on the main trail appeared mostly to have been put there for the benefit of trail walkers, the ones on the loop trail really seemed to be in their "native" state.If you've never seen petrified wood (we hadn't) this is worth going to see. The colors are beautiful and each piece is a bit unique. You could probably make a half day out of it by tacking on a picnic lunch, otherwise figure on a couple of enjoyable hours.