When most people think of forests, they think of lush landscapes with rows of tall trees surrounding them.
Forests can also be where fossils of ancient trees from the Triassic period, 200 million years ago, are found that have hardened and crystallized over time.
Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park falls into Category II land (land lacking tall trees), which may explain why it was ranked in one survey as one of the most disappointing national parks in the United States.
The survey, published by outdoor retailer KÜHL and based on about 96,000 national park reviews on Tripadvisor and Google, ranked the Petrified Forest as the second most disappointing park, behind California’s Death Valley National Park.
The Petrified Forest has gotten a lot of bad rap over the years. Tripadvisor user Travlingal51’s review reads: “My husband is a wood lover and even he regretted our arrival.”
We think it’s still worth a visit. But more on that later.
The findings are as follows.
Why is the Petrified Forest considered a disappointment?
The Petrified Forest ranked so high on the Disappointment Survey — a list that also included Zion in Utah, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Denali in Alaska — because travelers thought the park’s name suggested a giant forest, “but instead they found mostly logs scattered across the wasteland,” KÜHL content writer Ivan Slovic, who wrote the survey results.
“Many visitors report feeling ‘bland’ or ‘just a bunch of rocks and logs,’ especially if they’re only on Route 66 for 30 to 60 minutes, as if that’s all,” Slovic said.
“Most people come in expecting to see something immediately eye-popping, like the photos they saw online, and then they’re disappointed when things don’t go that way,” he said.
Is the Petrified Forest worth visiting?
Some disappointment when visiting the Petrified Forest was offset by overwhelmingly positive reviews from users of the same review site. The park has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 on Google and Tripadvisor.
Visitors who leave positive reviews about the Petrified Forest speak of being amazed by the petrified wood along the forest trails and the colors of the mesas along the Painted Desert. Some reviewers also cited the history behind the Painted Desert Lodge and the friendliness of the park rangers in their reviews.
The World Atlas ranks the Petrified Forest as one of the nine best road trips in Arizona, highlighting it as a unique Arizona destination.
The National Park Service describes the Petrified Forest as “a stunning land filled with scenic wonders and fascinating science,” with one of the largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood in the world.
The park service drew attention to the situation with a social media post that garnered more than 62,000 likes on Instagram, quoting lyrics from Gloria Gaynor’s hit song “I Will Survive”: “First I was a tree, now I’m petrified. I thought all my wooden rings had turned to stone inside.”
Don’t listen to the haters, Petrified Forest National Park is well worth a visit. Just don’t expect to see towering pine trees.
The 10 Most Disappointing National Parks, Based on Google and Tripadvisor Reviews
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Death Valley National Park, California.
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Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.
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Zion National Park, Utah.
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Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota.
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Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky.
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Everglades National Park, Florida.
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Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
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Great Basin National Park, Nevada.
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Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.
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Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas.
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Michael Salerno is an award-winning journalist who has been covering the travel and tourism industry since 2014. His work as a consumer travel reporter for The Arizona Republic aims to help readers relieve travel stress and get the most value from their vacation. You can contact him at Michael.Salerno@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared in The Arizona Republic: Arizona national parks ranked second most disappointing. that’s why