How Crowded Is Petrified Forest National Park in August?

August runs about 1.2× Petrified Forest National Park's average month, which makes it a busy month here — roughly 10% of the park's yearly visitors come in August.

In a typical August the park sees about 64,000 recreation visits, based on National Park Service monthly counts from 1979 to 2025.

That makes August the 4th-busiest of the park's twelve months, sitting between the June peak (1.7×) and the January low (0.4×).

On our Best Time to Visit score August rates 62/100 ("Good"), versus the top-rated September at 71/100 — pleasant weather with noticeably thinner crowds (shoulder season).

Typical August weather, from 1991–2020 NOAA climate normals at the nearest station, averages a daytime high near 88°F and an overnight low around 58°F, with about 1.7" of precipitation.

That average of about 73°F is a comfortable range for hiking and being outdoors all day.

August falls inside the park's busiest stretch: June, July and August together pull about 37% of the year's visitors, so a visit this month means sharing the park with the peak-season crowd.

You'll have about 13.3 hours of daylight in August to explore — between the 9.7-hour midwinter low and the 14.3-hour summer high.

Park-wide, 2024 drew 559,254 recreation visits, up 7.4% from 520,491 in 2023.

Across the past decade overall visitation has eased about 20.5%, so August may feel a touch quieter than it once did.