Petrified Forest is at its best in the cooler months — February, November, and April lead the year here. February brings 67% fewer visitors than June, the park's busiest month, average highs around 53°F, 10.9 hours of daylight.
Weather figures are for the Painted Desert Visitor Center area — the Painted Desert NP station (1 km from the reference point, at 5,760 ft). Parks are big places; conditions change with elevation and distance. Crowd figures are recreation visits averaged over 2021–2025; climate normals cover 1991–2020.
Petrified Forest, month by month
| Month | Verdict | Avg. visits | vs. peak | High | Low | Precip | Snow | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Good | 23,357 | −63% | 48°F | 22°F | 0.9" | 0.7" | 10 h |
| February | Excellent | 21,056 | −67% | 53°F | 25°F | 0.7" | 0.1" | 10.9 h |
| March | Good | 47,378 | −26% | 61°F | 30°F | 0.7" | 0.2" | 11.9 h |
| April | Good | 42,469 | −34% | 68°F | 35°F | 0.4" | 0.2" | 13 h |
| May | Good | 58,041 | −9% | 78°F | 44°F | 0.5" | 0" | 14 h |
| June | Tough | 63,918 | peak | 89°F | 53°F | 0.3" | 0" | 14.5 h |
| July | Good | 53,668 | −16% | 92°F | 60°F | 1.4" | 0" | 14.3 h |
| August | Good | 42,478 | −34% | 88°F | 58°F | 1.7" | 0" | 13.5 h |
| September | Good | 42,663 | −33% | 82°F | 51°F | 1.1" | 0" | 12.3 h |
| October | Good | 44,784 | −30% | 71°F | 40°F | 1" | 0" | 11.2 h |
| November | Excellent | 29,030 | −55% | 58°F | 28°F | 0.6" | 0.3" | 10.3 h |
| December | Good | 29,406 | −54% | 47°F | 22°F | 0.8" | 0.1" | 9.8 h |
The crowd calendar
Average monthly recreation visits, 2021–2025. The quiet months are under 35% of the peak month; shoulder runs to 75%; the rest is peak season.
Compare Petrified Forest with another park · Check specific dates
How these scores work
- Crowds — how far a month sits below the park's busiest month in the visitation records. The peak month scores 0, a month with half the peak's visitors scores 50.
- Weather — 100 when the average daytime high lands in the 55–75°F comfort band, falling 3 points per degree outside it. Months averaging 95°F or hotter are capped at 20, nights below 15°F cost 15 points, months averaging over 4 inches of rain lose up to 20, and months that are both hot (85°F+) and soaked (6 inches+) lose another 25 — the sticky-season penalty.
- Daylight — hours of daylight at the park's latitude, scaled from 8 hours (0) to 16 hours (100).
- Roads & access — typical monthly snowfall where the weather station reports it (25 inches or more scores 0); where it doesn't, how far average highs sit below 40°F stands in. This carries real weight by default because an empty month is often empty for a reason — mud season shouldn't win on crowds alone. Months with almost no recorded visits are treated as closed and score 0 here, and a near-empty month right next to the closed season gets access capped low — that quiet usually means the services are shut too.
- A park page blends crowds 30%, weather 40%, daylight 10%, roads & access 20%. Scores are shown as bands — Excellent (77+), Good (52–76), Tough (under 52) — never as decimals, because 30-year normals don't support false precision.
More on the method and its limits on the how-we-score page.
Common questions
When is the best time to visit Petrified Forest?
February, November, and April score best here, weighing crowds, weather, daylight, and access together. February averages highs of 53°F with 67% fewer visitors than June.
When is Petrified Forest least crowded?
February is the quietest month the records show the park open — about 21,056 recreation visits on average against 63,918 in June.
When is Petrified Forest busiest?
June — about 63,918 recreation visits on average in the records.
What is the weather like in February at Petrified Forest?
Average highs around 53°F, lows around 25°F, with about 0.7 inches of precipitation for the month — figures from the Painted Desert NP station, so conditions vary across the park.
Petrified Forest by month
January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November · December