Ancient Trees Can Be Found All Over Southern Utah

Forests From the Past

Petrified wood is rock that was clearly a tree at one point. You can visit Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona to see some amazing examples. If you don't want to leave Utah, Escalante Petrified Forest State Park in the eastern part of the state for a view of these fossils. 

But you don’t even need to travel that far. Take a hike through Southern Utah and you will probably run into some petrified wood. Here are some examples of some amazing petrified logs found right in our backyard. 

Read More: Jail Time For Taking This Fossil Home

This petrified log is on a trail just outside of Hurricane. You could almost walk past it by mistaking it for a rock outcropping.

These smaller pieces can be found in many dry washes in Southern Utah if you keep your eyes peeled. A little polish can really make these fossils pop.

Here is a petrified tree that is nearly 30 feet long up above St. George. It looks like this large tree fell over recently except it is rock and there are no similar trees anywhere near.

You can crawl under this petrified log. Having space underneath makes this petrified wood really stand out.

All of these petrified logs were found in the bluffs and washes in Washington County. If you need a reason to get out of the house and get some fresh air, maybe a hunt for petrified wood is what you are looking for.