Escalante Petrified Forest State Park

By America's State Parks Editorial TeamFebruary 5, 2026 · Updated October 5, 2026

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is a public state park in Utah near Escalante in Garfield County. It protects a hillside of Jurassic petrified wood above Wide Hollow Reservoir, reached by two climbing trails.

Quick Facts

Location & Getting There

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is located near Escalante, Utah. The park’s coordinates are 37.7897, -111.6122.

Things to Do

The petrified wood here is 135 to 155 million years old — trees up to 100 feet tall, uprooted by ancient floods, buried in mud and rebuilt cell by cell as silica-rich groundwater replaced the wood. The colors tell you which minerals did the work: iron oxides paint the logs orange, red and yellow; manganese oxides add blue, black and purple. The Petrified Forest Trail, a 1-mile loop climbing 200 feet up the mesa behind the visitor center, walks you through it; the Trail of Sleeping Rainbows extends it by 0.75 miles to the densest wood concentration in the park — officially “very strenuous,” with real scrambling over rocks. Inside the visitor center: a 50-foot petrified tree displayed root to tip, plus fossilized dinosaur bones and ammonites.

One warning the park makes with a wink and the law makes without one: taking petrified wood is illegal — and park lore holds that stolen pieces carry a curse. Below the mesa, 130-acre Wide Hollow Reservoir adds the water side: swimming, kayak and paddleboard rentals, fishing for stocked rainbow trout, largemouth bass and bluegill, and ice fishing once winter sets in.

Best Time to Visit

At 5,900 feet in pinyon-juniper country, this is high desert: the park stays open year-round (6 a.m.–10 p.m., no gate), the campground never closes, and winter brings ice fishing on the reservoir. The trade-off is the shower house, which closes mid-November to mid-March. On the trails, the park’s own advice is the desert basics — sturdy shoes, sun protection and more water than you think you need, especially on the exposed Sleeping Rainbows scramble. Boaters and swimmers get the reservoir at its best in summer; anglers have it nearly to themselves the rest of the year.

Visitor Tips

Day use costs $10 per vehicle ($5 for Utah seniors 62+). The campground on the reservoir shore has grown to 52 sites: standard sites $30, water-and-electric $40, and full hookups $60 in the new Wide Hollow loops, with hot showers and a dump station ($15). Reserve on a rolling 4-month window at utahstateparks.reserveamerica.com (800-322-3770); the group site books up to 11 months out — as of August 2026.

The park sits 1 mile west of the town of Escalante on Scenic Byway UT-12, and 44 miles east of Bryce Canyon National Park — an easy add-on to a Bryce itinerary, and a far quieter night’s sleep. Pets are welcome on a 6-foot leash, everywhere but inside buildings.

Fees, hours and facility details verified against stateparks.utah.gov on August 29, 2026. Fees change — confirm before you travel.

Explore More Utah State Parks

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is one of many outstanding state parks in Utah. Discover more parks in our Best State Parks in Utah guide, or use our Park Finder to search by activity, location, or features.

Wildlife & Nature

Escalante PF SP — 1,351 acres with petrified wood from 150-million-year-old Jurassic forests. Wide Hollow Reservoir (built by the CCC in 1954) provides recreation. The park’s slickrock, desert, and reservoir support mule deer, golden eagles, and collared lizards. Colorful petrified logs litter the hillsides.

Nearby Attractions

Escalante — adjacent — gateway to the Escalante River canyons. Grand Staircase-Escalante NM — surrounding. Scenic Byway 12 — through town.

Nearby parks: If you have extra time, Anasazi State Park is a short drive away.

About the Author

America's State Parks Editorial Team

America's State Parks is an independent online guide to state parks and other public lands in the United States. Our editorial team compiles park profiles from official agency and operator sources and other identified references, and follows our published editorial policy and review methodology. Where a profile shows a source-check date, that date applies to the detail it names. We correct errors when we find them or when readers report them.

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