Escalante Petrified Forest State Park

37°47′16″N 111°37′46″W / 37.78778°N 111.62944°W / 37.78778; -111.62944Area1,350 acres (5.5 km²)^[1]Elevation5,900 ft (1,800 m)^[2]Established1976^[3]Visitors73,969 (in 2022)^[4]Governing bodyUtah State Parks

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park (also known as Escalante State Park) is a state park in Utah, United States, located 0.8 km north of Escalante and 71 km east of Bryce Canyon National Park. The park features a high mesa that was once an ancient floodplain. Approximately 135 to 155 million years ago, large trees were buried in mud during floods. Groundwater eventually replaced the organic material with silica, preserving the wood as fossils. Erosion has exposed these petrified logs, which were prized by hobbyists before the park's establishment. The logs are believed to be from conifers transported by a river before being buried and fossilized as agate.^[5]

The varied colors of the petrified wood are due to different minerals absorbed during petrification. Iron oxides contribute to the orange, red, and yellow hues, while manganese oxides create blues, blacks, and purples.^[6] The park also includes trails, camping areas, and a visitor center displaying petrified wood and fossilized dinosaur bones.^[5]

In 1872, Almon Harris Thompson, a member of John Wesley Powell’s survey expedition, explored the Escalante River region and named it after the Spanish explorer Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, inspired by the area's stepped plateaus.^[3]

The Wide Hollow Reservoir was constructed in 1954 to provide irrigation for the town of Escalante.^[3] The reservoir was renovated in 2010.^[5]

Escalante Petrified Forest was officially opened to the public as a state park in 1976. A visitor center was built in 1991. In the fall of 2014, a 50-foot (15 m) petrified log from the Morrison Formation was added, allowing visitors to view the entire tree from its roots to the tip.^[3]

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park features a diverse range of habitats, including the rare wetland of Wide Hollow Reservoir. The wetland section of the park supports a rich variety of birdlife, with 108 species recorded, including the American kestrel, bald eagle, osprey, and various other waterfowl, raptors, and songbirds.^[7] The reservoir is stocked with largemouth bass, crappie, tiger trout, rainbow trout and bluegill.

The broader park environment, dominated by pinyon pine and Utah juniper, also hosts a variety of wildlife. Key species include pronghorn antelope, western chorus frog, coyote, and mule deer. Smaller mammals like the antelope squirrel, other reptiles such as the desert horned lizard, California kingsnake, and sidewinder rattlesnake are also present.^[5][8]

Guests can visit the visitor center, which features displays of plant and marine fossils, petrified wood, and fossilized dinosaur bones over 150 million years old (Upper Jurassic Period). The nearby Wide Hollow Reservoir is also popular for water sports, including swimming, boating, and fishing.

Trails

The Petrified Forest Trail is a one-mile (1.6 km) loop that winds up the side of a mesa to the top,^[5] where most of the fossil wood is found. Logs two feet or more in diameter are visible at several locations along the trail, where they are eroding from the conglomerate capping the mesa. This conglomerate lies near the top of the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation.^[6]

The Sleeping Rainbows Trail is an optional 0.75-mile (1.21 km) loop off the Petrified Forest Trail. This section is much steeper and requires scrambling and climbing over rocks.^[9][5]

Camping

The Escalante Petrified Forest State Park features a 22-unit campground with basic amenities, including restrooms and a group campsite. Reservations for individual sites can be made up to 16 weeks in advance, and group reservations can be made up to 11 months in advance.^[5]

According to local legend, visitors who remove pieces of petrified wood from Escalante Petrified Forest State Park are said to suffer from bad luck, a belief that some attribute to ancient spirits guarding the land.^[5] Stories of misfortune related to the removal of wood date back to the 1930s, though the precise origins of these tales are unclear. The park has received numerous letters from individuals who claim to have experienced various misfortunes after taking wood, often returning the pieces along with apologies. In 2014, park manager Kendall Farnsworth reported receiving about a dozen such packages each year,^[10] with the accompanying letters describing experiences ranging from relationship problems to health issues and financial troubles. Many letters also mention that the sender’s luck reportedly improved after the wood was returned to the park.^[11]

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  Petrified wood
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  Petrified wood
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  Large piece of petrified wood
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  Balanced rock
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  Morrison Formation
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  Petrified wood forms through permineralization, where minerals carried by water fill the open spaces in organic tissue.
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  Petrified logs in place
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  A 50-foot fossil log from the Morrison Formation is displayed at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Utah.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the website of the Utah Division of State Parks.