The Most Unforgettable Stops Along Route 66

Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park sits in northeastern Arizona, where Route 66 once crossed a dramatic landscape of colorful badlands and ancient stone-like trees. The area was first protected as Petrified Forest National Monument in 1906, then became a national park in 1962.

This stop adds a grand natural chapter to the Mother Road. Instead of neon or diners, travelers find wide skies, fossilized wood, desert colors, and a preserved stretch of old Route 66. It is worth seeing because it connects America’s highway story to a much older, wilder national story.