Roads and Trails - Petrified Forest National Park AZ

City:: Petrified Forest National Monument, AZ
Site Type:: Parks and Recreation, Paths and Trails, Park Roads and Bridges, Viewpoints and Overlooks
New Deal Agencies:: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Conservation and Public Lands, Public Works Funding, Work Relief Programs, National Park Service (NPS), Public Works Administration (PWA)
Started:: 1933
Completed:: 1940
Quality of Information:: Very Good
Marked:: No
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

A major upgrade of facilities at the Petrified Forest National Monument (now National Park) was undertaken by the New Deal in the 1930s. The work was carried out from 1933 to 1940 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), under the direction of the National Park Service (NPS). Some, if not all, was paid for by a grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA).

Among other works, the CCC enrollees improved and paved the parks’ dirt roads, including the main Petrified Forest Road and the Blue Mesa Scenic Road, adding bridges over the washes. The also built the park’s trail system, including Blue Mesa trail, Crystal Forest trail and Rainbow Forest trail. The scenic overlook at Jasper Forest (pictured below) has the appearance of CCC work, as well.

Some CCC trails in the hills ‘badlands’ of the park have been washed out over the years, according to one ranger we spoke to, while others have been resurfaced and improved (e.g. Rainbow Forest/Giant Logs trail).