How Crowded Is Petrified Forest National Park in February?

February runs about 0.5× Petrified Forest National Park's average month, which makes it a very quiet month here — roughly 4% of the park's yearly visitors come in February.

In a typical February the park sees about 24,000 recreation visits, based on National Park Service monthly counts from 1979 to 2025.

That makes February the 11th-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 February rates 55/100 ("Fair"), versus the top-rated September at 71/100 — pleasant weather with noticeably thinner crowds (shoulder season).

Typical February weather, from 1991–2020 NOAA climate normals at the nearest station, averages a daytime high near 53°F and an overnight low around 25°F, with about 0.7" of precipitation.

That average of about 39°F is cool, so layers and a shorter daylight window matter.

Because June, July and August together draw about 37% of annual visitors, choosing February instead steps outside that summer crush — the single biggest lever on how crowded the park feels.

You'll have about 10.7 hours of daylight in February 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 February may feel a touch quieter than it once did.