ESCALANTE PETRIFIED FOREST STATE PARK — Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is well-known for its incredible array of petrified artifacts and the park is adding a display of a mostly intact, 50-foot petrified tree in October.

Located about 1 mile from the city of Escalante, Escalante Petrified Forest State Park was established as a park in the 1960s by the local Lion’s Club who worked with legislation to make it a protected area, according to state park manager Kendall Farnsworth. In 1976, it was established as a Utah State Park and the Petrified Forest Trail was built to allow people to access the petrified forest.

Farnsworth said while it is called a “forest,” the petrified trees aren’t actually standing. There is just a collection of petrified remnants and pieces of trees that are around 150 million years old. The trees grew along an ancient river bed and were eventually buried by sediment during a huge flood.

The layers of sediment preserved the trees and they were eventually fossilized after the organic matter was replaced by minerals, Farnsworth said. The trees have been identified as the now-extinct species, agathoxylon and xenoxylon, and were similar to modern-day Norfolk Pines.

“They are very colorful,” he said. “You can actually look at the tree and you can sometimes see the growth rings. You can see very well-preserved bark on some of the specimens. And the colors are just very vivid.”

The majority of the petrified trees are located on the top of a butte in the park and visitors can hike the Petrified Forest Trail to view some of the scattered remnants. The trail is around 1 mile round trip and includes a steep, 200-foot climb. The trail has uneven, rocky surfaces so Farnsworth recommends wearing good hiking shoes.

The Trail of Sleeping Rainbows branches off from the main hiking trail and offers an additional ¾ mile loop to look at the petrified trees. This section is much steeper and is quite strenuous, Farnsworth said.

“It has some of the most spectacular specimens,” he said.

Utah State Parks

While most of the petrified trees in the park are fragments, the state park obtained permits to acquire an intact 50-foot tree that was located on Bureau of Land Management property. It was under risk of vandalism so it was carefully relocated to Escalante Petrified Forest State Park and will go on display after a grand opening in October, Farnsworth said.

In addition to looking at petrified trees, here are some other activities to enjoy at the park:

Camping

The campground is located between Wide Hollow Reservoir and the slopes of the mesa. It has 24 campsites, eight of which have hookups for water and electricity for RVs and trailers. There is also a group site that can hold up to 50 people, Farnsworth said. The campground has restrooms and showers available.

There is also a pavillion available for day use that can hold 75 people.

Boating and Fishing

Wide Hollow Reservoir is about 130 surface acres, part of which is located within the park, Farnsworth said. Motorized boats are allowed on the reservoir, but Farnsworth said because the water levels fluctuate, anyone wanting to do water sports should call ahead to make sure the levels are OK for wakeboarding and other such activities.

The reservoir has a variety of fish species including large mouth bass, blue gill and trout. It is stocked by the Division of Wildlife Resources annually. Farnsworth said the park also plans to rent paddleboards and kayaks by the end of the summer.

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