Escalante Petrified Forest State Park

Sonja J

2024-04

Very nice small campground with great clean amenities. We enjoyed our stay and also especially the hike here. There is so much petrified wood to see, splendid colours and beautiful scenery.

Jean Robinson

2024-04

A nice campground is available, but make your reservations early or watch daily for cancelations. The hike is a very nice hike that has some beautiful petrified trees. And some cool living trees, too. It is steep in spots, but the trail makers did a nice job of creating steps with rocks.

Casey Anderson

2024-04

We stayed at WIT 5, in a cluster of new walk in tent sites. Each site has a shade structure, picnic table, fire pit with grill grate and a power outlet. One water spigot near the center of the sites. You do have to walk in. Nice view of the lake. A bit windy while we were there. Beautiful and clean restroom and free shower rooms.

Lan Ki

2024-04

nice little trail in the outskirts of escalante for those who want to take a shorter hike.the loop is a bit more than a mile with small elevation gain, which takes you to the nice views on escalante and platou. the guide was very informative about the formation of the area and interesting facts about the petrified treesin the march trail was super muddy after the snow melted, which made a hike difficult in the beginning (do not make my mistake and wear white shoes )park requires a fee of 5$ to enter and have plenty of parking

Walter Rothe

2024-01

Small but great! We enjoyed our stay at the Lake View Campround located within the park. We did the Petrified Forest Trail and learnt a lot about evolution and the background of the petrified wood. The store in the visitor center is nice and staff members are very friendly and helpful. A clean and safe place! We certainly return.Restrooms: Very cleanDog-friendliness: Pet friendly campgroundPicnic area: Covered picknick tables

JayJay VaineoHurst

2023-12

Definitely ask for a trail map. When you encounter forks in the trail, I recommend going left each time. The trail was easier going down on the left then up on the right side. Don’t miss out on the trail of sleeping rainbows. The most magnificent petrified wood pieces are in that section. The one that my partner and I took a hatsie with (hat selfie) is at the very end, if I’m remembering correctly.

Alba González Hernando

2023-12

Beautiful state park with a little lake. I found really interesting the petrified wood along the small trails. I gave it 4 stars because it was not well signaled where to go and find the petrified wood. Also, the trail to the cave reaches a dead end and no cave to be found.

Logan Teodoro

2023-09

This park is truly a hidden gem. If you're in the area for Bryce canyon or Dixie National Forest, you should make the trip to stop here. I'm from the east coast and haven't really seen petrified wood before. As you hike through their path, they gave you a small guide that gives you information about things you see along the way. The views from the hike are beautiful and as you go it feels like you might not see much at first. But as you get farther into the park you start to see the petrified wood and then you can't stop seeing it everywhere. It is beautiful and colorful and very impressive. There are massive chunks and smaller chunks everywhere. Definitely worth a hike.Restrooms: There are restaurants nearby, primarily designated for campers there, but they are nice and clean for those who are hiking as well. If you're staying here, they have nice showers and a kitchen cookware cleaning areaDog-friendliness: Park is a state park and does allow dogs

Anne-Marie Brouillet

2024-04

Beautiful scenery with the reservoir !Petrie's forest trail from the parking lot is a steep but Nice trail !Second loop has clean new showers

Chris Knight

2024-03

This was a nice place to hike and explore. There was plenty of parking available when we went. All of the trails are easy- moderate hikes, and signage is easy to follow. There was a spot on the ridge that had great views. We noticed there was a campground there as well.

Jacob Spence-Olson

2023-08

Very accommodating park rangers, clean facilities, and easy to follow rules. The hike and informational placards are very neat and well constructed. The views are beautiful and activities abundant. Highly recommend this state park for water and hiking activities! Showers are on 8 minute timers with 9 minute pauses between showers. Gift shop is nice and has some camping essentials.

Richard Miller

2023-10

Great little state park. Easy and kid friendly short hikes. Petrified wood was amazing. Trails are dirt so if it's been raining lately, you want want to wait a couple of dry daysRestrooms: CleanPicnic area: Large and covered

Kele Coloma

2023-11

Clean, spacious, spaces for RV; helpful staff. Sites have awnings, firepits, metal tables and views of the reservoir. Parking lot and Trailhead to the Petrified Forest and Trail of Sleeping Rainbow just behind the check in building. Restrooms are clean and well lit; showers are individual on the side of the bathroom /bathhouse. Dressing area with bench and stand up shower. Water pressure is 3 on a 1-5 scale but the water gets plenty hot!

Mark Manwell

2023-08

It's a small park but a quaint oasis. Has a lake for boating kayaking and fishing, campgrounds and hikes. The petrified forest hike is steep in the beginning but the hike is worth it to see some of the petrified tree trunks with amazing coloring from the different minerals deposited into them. If you don't want to do the hikes, there is a 50ft petrified tree just inside the entrance that everyone can see.Dog-friendliness: Dogs are allowed on the hiking trails

Robi Cin

2023-10

Made a day trip to this park to check it out. It started raining and was muddy so we didn't hike. We walked around the campground. There are a few sites with RV hookups and some tent sites. Restrooms are also available. Great little lake to paddleboard, kayak or canoe

Kyle Crowley

2023-06

We were looking for a last minute camp site and everyone we talked to here was incredible! Super friendly staff. We ended up staying 3 night and really enjoyed our stay. They even invited us and our kids in to do the Jr. Ranger program and our kids loved it! Couldn’t be happier with our experience here. Also the hike is great, the sleeping rainbow loop is DEFINITELY worth it! 10x better petrified wood specimens along the route. It does have some climbs. We did it with a 3 and 6 year old.

Solvita U

2023-11

A little gem. Miles better than Arizona one. You have to hike a bit but you’re up close to some huge petrified wood pieces, if you’re into things like that. Pictures do not do justice, hard to show color and scale.

Landon Jenkins

2023-08

We love coming here regularly. It puts you in a perfect spot to be able to go to national parks like Bryce or stick around Escalante and do slot canyons. The hikes here are easy. We took our two kids and they loved the hikes. The water is perfect for kayaking, paddle boarding, and fishing. We stayed in the newer tent areas and they were really nice.

Lifted Life Yoga

2023-11

Such a great campsite….we had such fun on the lake, watching the eagles, geese and ducks while paddling around. Got a good hike it- sleeping rainbow loop was worth it! Will be back

Carol Lamb

2023-05

We camped two nights in late April. The campground was full, but it's awfully small. We loved our site nine which is on the backside up against the Canyon wall. It was quiet scenic and private. The bathroom is amazingly clean and modern. The showers were just fine.We felt sorry for the people that were closer to the lake, because there's a lot of construction going on right now. They start early about 7:30 AM and the noise of the trucks and the guys yelling back-and-forth will wake you up! Fortunately, this is temporary. They are building a massive addition to this campground. Looks like the new sites will have hook ups for water and electricity. The big activity here is hiking the petrified forest, which was much cooler than we expected! On April 26 it was way too chilly for water sports.(There's no place to ride your gravel bike. We tried to go out the back on a dirt road -that we saw on a map- but there's a sign up that says no trespassing, private property. Which is a shame. There is a newish single track system on the plateau above, but it looked highly technical. )

Joesephine Lawrence

2024-05

Beautiful desert landscapes with pine and juniper. Not to mention the cool petrified wood. We are moderatly in shape and both hike loops together were under two hours. Be desert smart and take water and sun protection.

N and C Farrell

2023-05

We do a lot of hiking throughout the western US and have been very impressed by Utah State Parks. The staff were very pleasant, the facilities were excellent and the views were jaw dropping. Did not know what to expect for the petrified forest hike but thoroughly enjoyed the moderately strenuous trail. And applause for having a dog friendly trail. If camping, would definitely stay here.

Strangers' Gardens

2023-06

It's $10 to come in and walk the trail ($50 to camp) which we thought was a little steep, considering what there is to do. The trail has some neat petrified trees along it and a display at the trailhead for non-hiking members of your party. The reservoir is lovely and we saw a boat on it, so apparently you can play in the water as well.

John Crankshaw

2023-05

Great campground but most sites small even for small trailers. RVs and tents rule here. Great showers and restrooms. Ice and firewood available. The park hikes are strenuous and interesting. Here you’re in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument with lots of hiking too.

Erin McQuin

2023-05

I have never seen so much petrified wood in one place! It was incredibly magical to see. There were two trials available and we hiked both.The first trial we hiked was the Petrified Forest Trail. Request the brochure at the visitors center and there is an informative nature walk. My husband and I learned a lot about the park and natural history from it. This trail was steep at the beginning to get to the loop but the main loop was flat and easy.The second trial, Trail of Sleeping Rainbows, has the most specimens. However the trail was very steep and difficult.Restrooms: Very clean bathrooms!

Kris Johnson

2023-10

Love this state park. Had no idea it was here but glad I decided to visit. The rangers are awesome and the park is beautiful. The petrified trees are worth the visit.

Paul Oppenheimer

2023-05

We found this to be a fun little hike. I would strongly encourage everyone to do the trail of Sleeping Rainbows loop. It is only another 3/4 of a mile and where the good, densely populated petrified wood is.

Josh Trewin

2023-05

I highly recommend not going if it is even remotely hot out as there is absolutely no shade. The first/last part of the hike can be difficult if you're not used to uneven trails, don't have proper hiking shoes, or don't enjoy inclines and declines. If you are going for the petrified wood you very well may be disappointed. I went after hours so there was no guide. There were no information signs along the trails so you had to guess what was petrified wood and what was just regular rocks and boulders. There were maybe 4 spots you could know 100% what you were looking at. If there were signs, maps, pamphlets or any type of information to access after hours it would have made it a lot more enjoyable. I just couldn't tell what was what, and i found myself guessing and making assumptions. (I still paid even though it was after hours)

Lawrence Smith

2023-07

Great path for quick hike.Good exhibit if petrified wood.Easy parking. Nice lake.

Sylvia Kopasz

2023-11

Very nice small campground. A short trail to enjoy but the trail could be a challenge for someone with mobility issues.