Calistoga, California: Petrified Forest
Huge stone logs -- petrified wood -- lie along a half-mile loop trail, with explanatory signs. 2023: Family owners retiring, hope to sell 500-acre property.
- Address:
- 4100 Petrified Forest Rd, Calistoga, CA
- Directions:
- West of US-29 on Petrified Forest Rd. From Santa Rosa, head south on Hwy 12, before the Saint Francis Shopping Center turn left onto Calistoga Road, which eventually becomes Petrified Forest Road. On the left.
- Hours:
- Daily 10-6, Winter 10-5. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 707-942-6667
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Tried going today and there is a sign saying it is still closed due to the wildfires.
[Ellen Smith, 05/19/2018]
The chunks of petrified wood I had seen before visiting this attraction would have fit comfortably into a shopping bag. And the first couple of logs on the trail behind the gift shop were not that impressive: about the size of telephone poles. But a couple of bends in the path later, there were true giants!
These were redwoods, some of the most enormous trees that have ever lived, and they turned to stone... they looked like fallen Greek columns. Weirdly dignified.
The trail is kind of pretty: California lilac blooming and a trio of lovely does grazing on the young grass. The gift shop has a first-class selection of rocks and gems, too. Kind of a sleeper, but worth it.
[Doctor Peg, 03/11/2015]
One of the few last roadside attractions; to take a walk in nature instead of wine tasting was a pure joy! Attractions are what you make them. I find myself gravitating toward history/nature. Plenty of picnic benches to grab a bite to go in Calistoga and have a picnic among a historical preserve. Life -- it does not get much better!
[Weezer, 03/14/2009]
This place is still around. Not as amazing as you would think, but worth stopping by if you are on a road trip. Not an entire forest, mostly live trees with some petrified trees here and there.
[Kerry Laws, 07/26/2007]Walk through a short trail of petrified redwood trees from a volcanic eruption of Mt. St. Helena three million years ago. Most of the trees were over 2,000 years old when covered by the ash, and are now petrified. The Giant Tree is 60 feet in length, six feet in diameter. There are several large petrified trees that have been excavated. Registered as a California Landmark #915.
[Mercy Calman, 08/28/2001]Nearby Offbeat Places
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Update from Sky - "The site also offers a tiny (free) one-room museum which features samples of rocks and formations, and information about petrified wood and its formation. A respectable-sized gift shop is also offered, where visitors can choose from an assortment of rocks, gems, T-shirts, postcards and other geological memorabilia."