Petrified Forest Gift Shop & RV Park

$12.00 plus tax. The Lady in the gift shop was very nice and helpful. Ask info about camping and she set me up at a site with shade. Yes first come first serve. Have about 10 sites with 30 amp hookup. No water or dump. Has a nice picnic table at each site too. We got there about noon and there was no campers. Only thing I can say it that its a win win situation.

We stayed one night as we were just passing thru. Next morning the owner comes by saying she let us stay since we arrived late the night before but asked us not to stay another night. She didn’t kick us out or anything but It seems like she does not want anyone camping there as long as the park and gift shop are closed (which I understand) even if you are self contained.

For any future boondockers coming through here I would wait until the park opens back up to try to camp here again. Seemed like a nice lady though.

I would definitely camp here again if the park was open. The night sky is beautiful, it’s super quiet, you’re out in the middle of nowhere. I had two bars of Visible (off Verizon network) and phone calls could be made but internet was slow. Husband had no service with tmobile.

This place was the only free spot for the area we needed to be in. It's convenient, quiet, and the police drove by at night for courtesy checks.

We went in the next morning to give them some business, as most businesses that offer free camping expect. The lady was complaining the whole time we were in there about how she only wants customers who aren't there to just use their facilities. Obviously it is a little rude to only use a business for it's bathrooms, but why offer free camping (a use of your facility) or have a sign that literally says clean restrooms if you don't want to offer it?

While checking out, the lady working wouldn't help me unless I was 6ft away. I understand that this is during the coronavirus update, but why be rude about it? She also made it clear to her co-worker that she is not to be near us.

I honestly wish I would have just told them to keep what we were buying. We were only trying to give a little thanks for offering the free camping, but we left feeling like we were totally unwanted there.

It's really hard to be a full time RVer during this time. It's hard to find a place to stay, it's hard to find resources, etc. And it really sucks when people aren't understanding, especially when they offer a free camping spot (something many full timers are looking for).

This is a parking area outside the gift shop, right outside entrance to Petrified Forest National Park. There are 2 sites on either side. 1 lot has the museum with free RV parking. The other lot has 10 electric plugs with a gravel pad and picnic table each. We were one of about 5 RVs that night. You pay $12.78 at the shop, get a key to unlock the electric box and return the key. Checkout is 10 am the next day. Lock the padlock on the box when you leave. It rained overnight and we had to step into red muddy spots.

This was a nice place to stay, right at the south entrance to Petrified Forest National Park. We stayed here March 2-3, 2020, and the price went up in January to $12 (plus tax). Looks like there were a handful of sites across the street for free. Either option would work. Depends if you need the electric or can boondock. There were several other campers in the lot. Plenty of room to maneuver and back in. It was a bit windy, but otherwise pretty quiet. Not much traffic in the road right next to the campground. There was a gift shop at this campground and a museum across the street at the free campground.

One thing we couldn't figure out was why there were so many old, broken down (flat tires) cars parked at each place (about five or six cars in each parking lot) all day and all night. Weird. But we felt safe and would stay here again.

Stayed here for 1 night in February. The gift shop/museum were closed when we arrived (5:30 PM) due to the winter storm and the park being closed. Thank goodness one of the electric boxes was unlocked so we had power for the night. If you plan on using electric call ahead of time and ask them to unlock a box! Southern entrance to park is right there! Pay $20 to enter and spend the day. We left the RV parked until about noon at the site and once the gift shop opened up we went in and paid. The gift shop closed early the night before and didn’t open until about 11 the next day! The lady inside was flustered when we paid and said she tried to knock on our door and she didnt know what was going on...I explained about them closing early and opening late, that I found them on harvest, and that we even called hours before we arrived. She didnt seemed thrilled to have us but we still had power for the night so whatever. Only negative is the service here. We would stay again if we had to and show up in the early part of day before they shut down. Gravel lot, pretty level, quiet. Wonderful restaurants about 18 miles away.

Ok. I got a little confused with what I was reading here. There are TWO different campgrounds here, not one. Crystal Forest, on the right hand of the road pulling in, is free, but has no electricity. It does have some sites with picnic tables and canopies over them. Sites are pretty level and some nice views. Some sites are pull through and some are back in. Little picnic areas with fake teepees adds to it's funkiness. Dumpster on site.

Now, the other campground is on the left when you pull in, has no name on it. This one has power at the sites. All sites are back in some have picnic tables, but not all. This camp is $10.00 per night. The camp is closer to the highway, so you can hear the traffic when there is some. Traffic is light. Sites 1-6, I would only use if you have a small rig. There is a wash that runs right through those sites and with a big rig, you will never get level! There are some trees at this camp making it nice on a sunny day. The rest of the sites, 7-12 can handle bigger rigs, but anything more than 36 feet would be pushing it. 30 amp hook ups at most sites.

Big thing. None of these camps have water or sewer or BATHROOMS! Either campground. You need to be self contained. Be prepared coming out here. The closest town, Holbrook, is 20 miles away.