PETRIFIED FOREST Guidebook 1961

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Petrified Forest National Monument is open during daylight hours every day of the year.

Excellent paved highways make the monument easily accessible by car. U.S. 66, crossing the monument near Painted Desert, is the approach from the east. Travelers from the southwest, south, and west enter by way of U.S. 260. The monument road connects these two main highways and leads through the more interesting parts of the area.

Travelers by airplane, train, or bus can get privately operated cars at terminals in Gallup, N. Mex., or in Holbrook and Winslow, Ariz.

ACCOMMODATIONS AND SUPPLIES

Refreshments, lunches, souvenirs, and gasoline may be purchased at the Painted Desert Inn and Rainbow Forest Lodge. These establishments, about 26 miles apart, are located near the entrances to the monument. Both are open daily throughout the year.

Small picnic areas with tables are maintained at the Rainbow Forest and the Painted Desert.

There are no overnight facilities within the monument, and camping is not allowed. The nearest campgrounds are in national forests to the southeast and west, nearly 100 miles away.

Excellent motels and restaurants are located along the highways that cross the monument and in nearby communities.

Broken log sections.

TIPS FOR A CAREFREE VISIT

The National Parks and Monuments belong to you and your neighbors. Your cooperation in observing the following rules and regulations is necessary if the areas are to be preserved for your continued use and enjoyment and for the
use and enjoyment of your children and their children.

The natural features. The monument is a sanctuary for all living things. You are asked not to molest the birds or animals nor to pick wildflowers. Fragments of petrified wood are a temptation, but please do not carry them away. The Indian petroglyphs and ruins are irreplaceable; do not deface them or damage them in any way.

Dogs and other pets. You may take a dog, cat, or other pet into the monument provided it is kept on a leash, in a crate, or otherwise under physical restrictive control.

Care in driving. The monument road is intended primarily for the enjoyment of the area—it is not a speedway. Please observe posted speed limits and practice the usual courtesies of the road. Keep to the right of the center stripe; avoid parking on curves; pass cars going in your direction only when road signs or center striping indicate that it is safe to do so.

Fees. A nominal fee is charged for each motor vehicle entering the monument, for either a 15-day permit or a 1-year permit. During the 15-day valid period of the short-term permit, it may be surrendered at either entrance station and its cost may be applied toward the purchase of the calendar year permit. A valid permit must be shown upon entering and leaving the monument. All fees are deposited in the United States Treasury and offset, in part, appropriations made for operating the monument.

General. Picnicking is permitted during open hours at designated areas only.

All accidents, injuries, and lost or found articles should be reported at the nearest ranger station.

Trash receptacles are conveniently located throughout the monument, and you may obtain trash bags at either entrance station. Please dispose of all refuse properly. Cleanliness begets cleanliness.

Agate House.

ADMINISTRATION

Petrified Forest National Monument is administered by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The office of the superintendent, who is in immediate charge, is in the Painted Desert Orientation and Administration Building. Inquiries and comments concerning the monument should be addressed to the Superintendent, Petrified Forest National Monument, Holbrook, Ariz.

MISSION 66

The new Painted Desert Orientation and Administration Building, exhibits at the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center, and other improvements that you see here are among the nationwide accomplishments that have been achieved under the Mission 66 program of the National Park Service. Mission 66 is a 10-year program, designed to be completed on the 50th anniversary of the National Park Service in 1966, to develop and staff the parks so that they may be most wisely used and best enjoyed by the increasing numbers of people, while being preserved in full value for future generations.