Best time to visit Petrified Forest National Park
March, April and November are the best balance at Petrified Forest: mild and dry for the park (average highs 58° to 68°F), with crowds from moderate to busy. June is busiest, with about 60,000 visitors. February is the quietest, with highs near 53°F.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Painted Desert NP, AZ USC00026190
- Lat / lon
- 35.07, -109.77
- Elevation
- 5,760 ft
- From park center
- 9.5 mi
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Marbest | Aprbest | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Novbest | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 48° | 53° | 61° | 68° | 78° | 89° | 92° | 88° | 82° | 71° | 58° | 47° | 69° |
| Low, °F | 22° | 25° | 30° | 35° | 44° | 53° | 60° | 58° | 51° | 40° | 28° | 22° | 39° |
| Precipitation, in | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 9.9 |
| Snow, in | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 10:03 | 10:52 | 11:52 | 13:01 | 13:58 | 14:29 | 14:17 | 13:28 | 12:21 | 11:15 | 10:17 | 9:49 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 22 | 19 | 45 | 43 | 55 | 60 | 47 | 38 | 41 | 38 | 28 | 31 | 465 |
| Crowds | Moderate | Moderate | Busy | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Busy | Busy | Busy | Moderate | Moderate | |
| Weather | Cool | Cool | Mild | Mild | Mild | Hot | Very hot | Hot | Hot | Mild, wet | Mild | Cool |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 22° | 0.9 | 0.7 | 10:03 | 22,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| February | 53° | 25° | 0.7 | 0.1 | 10:52 | 19,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| Marchbest | 61° | 30° | 0.7 | 0.2 | 11:52 | 45,000 | Busy | Mild |
| Aprilbest | 68° | 35° | 0.4 | 0.2 | 13:01 | 43,000 | Busy | Mild |
| May | 78° | 44° | 0.5 | 0 | 13:58 | 55,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| June | 89° | 53° | 0.3 | 0 | 14:29 | 60,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| July | 92° | 60° | 1.4 | 0 | 14:17 | 47,000 | Busy | Very hot |
| August | 88° | 58° | 1.7 | 0 | 13:28 | 38,000 | Busy | Hot |
| September | 82° | 51° | 1.1 | 0 | 12:21 | 41,000 | Busy | Hot |
| October | 71° | 40° | 1.0 | 0 | 11:15 | 38,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| Novemberbest | 58° | 28° | 0.6 | 0.3 | 10:17 | 28,000 | Moderate | Mild |
| December | 47° | 22° | 0.8 | 0.1 | 9:49 | 31,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| Year | 69° | 39° | 9.9 | 1.6 | 465,000 | |||
Year: average high and low, total precipitation and snowfall, total visitors. T = trace (under 0.05 in). – = not measured at this station. Updated .
- Hottest July, average high 92°F
- Coldest nights December, average low 22°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 465,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State Arizona
Closures, reservations and alerts: Petrified Forest National Park on nps.gov
Nearby
- El Morro National MonumentBest: Apr and May · New Mexico
- Canyon de Chelly National MonumentBest: Mar, May and Nov · Arizona
- Walnut Canyon National MonumentBest: Apr, May and Oct · Arizona
- Wupatki National MonumentBest: Apr, May and Nov · Arizona