Crystal Forest: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Petrified Forest National Park, National Park Service

Nicholas, Lisa

Crystal Forest is a 12-acre cultural landscape located in the southern section of the Petrified Forest National Park of eastern Arizona. Known for its brightly colored petrified wood and spectacular views, Crystal Forest has drawn visitors since before the establishment of Petrified Forest National Monument in 1906. Early park developers of the 1930s recognized its attraction and planned the Petrified Forest Highway to run adjacent to Crystal Forest. The Crystal Forest parking area and trail, situated between Painted Desert and Rainbow Forest, represents an excellent example of the National Park Service landscape design approach during the 1920s-1940s. As a historic designed landscape, the Crystal Forest is associated with the emergence and implementation of naturalistic design principles and philosophies of park development that became common around the period of significance, identified as 1933-1941. It is associated with areas of landscape architecture, entertainment/recreation, and conservation. The Crystal Forest retains integrity, is in good condition, and the CLI recommends the inclusion of the landscape on the National Register. Following the concept of non-intrusive development, no buildings were ever proposed or built at Crystal Forest. However, a Mission 66 shelter was built at an overlook on the trail during the 1950s or 1960s. Circulation at the site remains essentially the same as when originally constructed, although parking lot design has been altered. A wire fence separating the parking lot from the trail area has been replaced with a low stone wall. The original trail, four feet wide with stone curbing, has been paved, and wooden barriers have been added to prevent off-trail excursions. Development at Crystal Forest was limited to that which serves functions of visitor safety and resource protection, and design projects have made use of native sandstone and native plants. Since early park development, the Crystal Forest area has been used for tourism and showcasing the unique aesthetic qualities of the petrified forest landscape. The current trail, laid out when the Petrified Forest Highway was built in 1932, was designed to emphasize the curving lines and views of the landscape. This arid site on the Colorado Plateau is characterized by its concentration of petrified wood and the presence of the Battleship, a freestanding hill on the opposite side of the highway. The topography is varied and dramatic, and views from Crystal Forest trail to the surrounding badlands are an important character defining feature. The trail snakes along ridgelines, descends into badlands, and traverses gentle slopes. The site is shortgrass prairie region, and there is little evidence that the vegetation has changed significantly since construction of the trail and parking lot. The original design of the Crystal Forest parking area and trail system was subdued and sparse. There were few features that interfered with the visitors’ direct experience of the landscape with its dramatic views, varied topography, and colorful specimens of petrified wood. Although early 1930s drawings of the trail layout suggest a different alignment, evidence suggests that the current conditions are identical to the original trail location. It may be assumed that these drawings, which also do not conform to the site’s topography, are schematic in nature. Although there have been some changes to the parking lot and trail system since its installation, the current landscape continues to reflect original design intentions and workmanship.

Crystal Forest: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Petrified Forest National Park, National Park Service

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