Off the Beaten Path Onyx Bridge Route Stop 1
in Arizona
Park at the Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark (2 miles from the north entrance of the park). If you know where to look, you can actually see Onyx Bridge from the overlook. Looking at the inn from the parking lot, the trail begins with steps to the left just behind the upright display signs.
Take the steps down to the switchback trail that descends 300 feet down to the valley floor. Please be careful of the loose pebbles.
- States
- Arizona
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Flagstaff, AZ · 106 mi · ~3.0 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 35.0837°, -109.7891°
About Petrified Forest National Park
This trail is inside Petrified Forest National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $25 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/otbp-onyx-bridge-1-htm.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Off the Beaten Path Onyx Bridge Route Stop 1 and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Other trails within 50 miles
Off the Beaten Path Onyx Bridge Route Stop 2
0 miles from this trail's centroid
Tawa Trail
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Blue Mesa Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 3
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 4
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Off the Beaten Path Billings Gap Overlook Route Stop 5
11 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.