Holbrook

History Ancestral Puebloans lived in this area first, followed by later Puebloan peoples and then the Navajo and Apache. A Spanish party from Coronado's expedition of 1540 crossed the Little Colorado east of Holbrook and named the colorful country it found El Desierto Pintado, the Painted Desert. In the 1850s Lt. Edward Beale's wagon road followed the 35th parallel through here, and a store and saloon at the meeting of the Puerco and Little Colorado rivers, two miles east of today's town, gave the place its first name, Horsehead Crossing. Mormon settlers arrived from Utah in 1876.

The railroad sold a million acres to Boston investors, who formed the Hashknife Outfit and made Holbrook their cow town. The rustling and feuding of the Pleasant Valley War reached the town on September 4, 1887, when Apache County Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens came alone to arrest Andy Blevins for horse theft. In the shootout that followed, Blevins, one of his brothers and a friend were killed and another brother survived; Owens was unhurt. The Blevins house still stands. Holbrook became the county seat when Navajo County was created in 1895 and was incorporated in 1917. On July 19, 1912, a meteorite exploded over the area and showered an estimated 16,000 or more fragments about 6 miles east of town; the largest piece recovered, 14.5 pounds, is at Arizona State University. Route 66 arrived in 1926, running through both Holbrook and the Petrified Forest, and tourism took over the economy.

Petrified Forest National Park President Theodore Roosevelt made the Petrified Forest a national monument in 1906, and it became a national park in 1962. The 28-mile park road takes about an hour without stops; most people spend two to three hours. From north to south, the main stops are the Painted Desert overlooks and the Painted Desert Inn, Puerco Pueblo with its petroglyphs, the blue badlands of Blue Mesa, and the log fields of Crystal Forest and Rainbow Forest, where the Giant Logs trail starts behind the Rainbow Forest Museum. In November 2026 the Painted Desert Visitor Center at the north entrance was closed for construction, and the Painted Desert Inn, two miles inside the park, served as the north visitor center. Entrance stations take cards only. Every piece of petrified wood in the park is protected, and taking it is illegal. The wood sold in shops outside comes from private land.

Getting There Holbrook is about 90 miles east of downtown Flagstaff and 34 miles east of Winslow on I-40. If you are heading east, NPS suggests leaving I-40 at exit 285 in Holbrook, taking US 180 19 miles to the south entrance and driving north through the park to rejoin I-40 at exit 311. Westbound drivers do the reverse. From the east side of Phoenix, the route via Payson, Heber and State Route 377 to Holbrook is about 215 miles to the park.

When to Go Petrified Forest is busiest in May and June. Summer highs reach about 100°F, and from June 15 to September 30 the monsoon brings afternoon thunderstorms, lightning and flash floods; the park often sees its first storm in early July. Spring is windy. In winter, snow is uncommon in Holbrook, but the park may open late until its roads are safe. The park is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.