Little Painted Desert — Local services in Winslow

Free adventure!! Look no further, Little Painted Desert is as beautiful as its name. Unreal!! Serene and mesmerizing hidden gem. Driving distance is approximately 25 minutes North of Winslow, off of route 66!! Best time to visit this beautiful place is during daylight. We were there mid February mid day and temperature was very comfortable. No coats required. Definitely use google map for directions. Not a whole lot of signs to guide you to the location and when you turn onto the hidden side road. The short distance to the little painted desert is rough with Lots and BIG pot holes.. Drive slow. Not too many rails and you can park the car right up to the cliff. The depth perception in the pictures does not do its justice. Do not let the hills fool you into thinking is a small area.. if you dare to walk on the historic ground, you are a little ant on the smallest bump of the hill!! Be careful climbing up and down the steep path. But you will not be disappointed if you do explore. There are no shades and not a lot of visitors and no vendors to sell food or drinks.. Be sure to pack some liquid, food and snacks. We explored the diffent sizes of the hills and found interesting objects.. apart from the different colours of gravel, we also found petrified wood!! They were heavy!! We took our time to explore the area and zero worries of other people being in the background of our picture as we were the only couple there!! Time spent there various depending how much you want to learn and explore. The 2 hours spent there flew by for us. Overall, amazing and interesting...

Low traffic, great place for watching Jupiter/Saturn conjunction with 3 or 4 other cars spread out over 1/2 a mile. Shaded picnic tables. Relativy isolated, could be high desert spooky at night.... all of Northern New Mexico and Northern Az is euphemistically called "enchanted ". I did not find a trail down i to the valley. About 5,200 feet high desert on top of the Mogollon rim it is cold after sunset, be prepared. Dog friendly. Keep half an eye on the children, steep hills. Maybe some brushfire hazard in summer. Nice view from the car. Not far from the more developed Homolvila ruins to the south. Dilkon, castle Butte pretty drive...

This place is worth a 15 minute drive from I 40 if you want to take some amazing pictures during sunset of the painted desert or during a storm. This place is not maintained anymore but the roads are still drivable. You will be greeted by two crows when you arrive! It seems they keep a watch over this place and follow the visitors. Be careful when driving since they have plenty of potholes but it’s well worth it when you reach the end of the road around the two structures you can take pictures there are a few more adventurous drive north on rim drive to the turnaround point and there are better opportunities...