Holbrook, Arizona: Explore a Petrified Forest and Echoes of Route 66

Holbrook, Arizona is best known for its proximity to the multi-colored tree stumps of Petrified Forest National Park. Holbrook is also home to a notable remnant of Route 66, a motel composed of 1950s-era tipis, and a small shed where travelers who are experiencing a transitional moment can leave something personally significant behind. There are few places where you can bask in the mystery, magic, and beauty of the desert quite like you can in Holbrook.

Blue Mesa at Petrified Forest National Park
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Holbrook’s main attraction will forever be Petrified Forest National Park. The stark desert landscape that is punctuated by crystallized tree stumps is a truly breathtaking sight.

View from within a shallow cave in the Jasper Forest at Petrified Forest National Park Arizona.
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Trails such as the Crystal Forest allow visitors to view petrified wood with sparkling crystal deposits. Visitors can also survey Puebloan ruins, hills made of blue bentonite clay, and paths lined with blooming cacti and wildflowers. Travelers can hike, attend a Native American cultural demonstration at the Visitors Center, or join a guided tour to learn about the region’s unique fossils and geology.

Petrified rocks of late Triassic period in Petrified Forest Nationa Park
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Arid as it may be, Petrified Forest National Park is home to a robust ecosystem. Visitors may spot a shy cottontail rabbit, a waddling porcupine, or a slinky bobcat. The best time to view wildlife is early in the morning or around dusk. A herd of Pronghorn grazing among sparkling petrified wood is a spellbinding sight that you will never forget.

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Petrified Forest National Park is also home to a remnant of Route 66. A rusted 1932 Studebaker rests at a former Route 66 pull off. Once the US Interstate Highway System was constructed in the mid-1950s, the bulk of Route 66 was decommissioned. The weathered Studebaker was donated to the National Park Service by an Arizona couple. Visitors love posing in front of a corroded car that is long past its prime on a dusty road that was once known as the Highway of Dreams.

Wigwam Motel on Route 66
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The Wigwam Motel, also known as Wigwam Village #6, is another vestige of the glory days of Route 66. Inspired by a design created…