Walk Crystal Forest Trail

Crystal Forest Trail is one of those rare hikes where the ground beneath your feet is more spectacular than the horizon. This paved loop winds through a lunar landscape of gray and purple badlands, with massive petrified logs scattered across the terrain like the aftermath of some ancient giant's logging operation. The surface is smooth and wheelchair-accessible, so the difficulty here is purely mental — resisting the urge to pocket a chunk of 225-million-year-old rainbow-colored wood. You will walk past logs that have been transformed into solid quartz and agate, their cross-sections revealing crystalline interiors that catch the desert light. The rolling terrain gives you constantly shifting vantage points over the painted badlands. This trail is perfect for geology nerds, families with young kids who need their minds blown, and anyone who wants to feel genuinely small next to something incomprehensibly old.