Painted Desert Inn

A traveler's stop first rose on this rim in the years before the park existed, built partly of petrified wood, and it served the trickle of tourists crossing the high desert. In the 1930s and 1940s the building was rebuilt and expanded in the graceful Pueblo Revival style seen today, work carried out in large part by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, whose crews shaped the adobe, timbers, and stonework by hand.

For a stretch of the mid-twentieth century the inn operated as a stop along Route 66, offering meals, curios, and rest to travelers on the famous highway. When the interstate later bypassed the old road, the inn's roadside trade faded, and after years of uncertainty it was preserved and restored as a museum, now honored as a National Historic Landmark within the national park.

The inn's interior is graced by murals painted by Fred Kabotie, a celebrated Hopi artist commissioned in the 1940s to decorate its walls. His images draw on Hopi life and tradition, from ceremonial figures to scenes of the salt journey, and they give the building a depth of meaning beyond its architecture, tying it to the living culture of the region's Native peoples.

The Hopi people, whose mesas lie to the north, and the Navajo, Zuni, and other nations of the Colorado Plateau all have long and continuing ties to this desert country. The murals stand as a reminder that this land is not empty scenery but homeland, and that its stories belong to peoples who remain very much present today.

The view from the inn is the reason for its site. Below and beyond spread the badlands of the Painted Desert, low hills and mesas banded in reds, oranges, purples, and grays that shift and glow as the light changes through the day. These colors come from ancient layers of mudstone and clay, stained by iron and minerals and laid down over immense spans of time, now weathered into bare, rounded forms.

This is a landscape almost without vegetation, sculpted purely by erosion, and it changes character hour by hour. In the low light of morning and evening the bands of color deepen and the hills throw long shadows, and after a rare rain the wet clay can turn startlingly vivid. From the inn's terraces the whole shifting spectacle is laid out like a painting, which is exactly how the desert earned its name.

The inn sits high on the Colorado Plateau, so the seasons here are those of a cold desert. Spring and fall are the most pleasant times, with mild days ideal for exploring the inn and the overlooks, though spring can bring strong winds across the open country.

Summer days are hot and bright on the exposed rim, tempered somewhat by the elevation and by the dramatic monsoon thunderstorms that build over the desert in the afternoons. Winter is cold, sometimes snowy, and often windy, and a dusting of snow on the red-and-gray badlands is a rare and beautiful sight. Whatever the season, the light and the color of the Painted Desert are the enduring reward.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Painted Desert Inn is a historic National Historic Landmark perched on the rim of the Painted Desert within Petrified Forest National Park in eastern Arizona. Originally built from petrified wood and stone and later redesigned in the Pueblo Revival style, this striking adobe-hued building once served travelers along Route 66 as an inn and trading post. Today it operates as a museum, showcasing its beautiful architecture, historic murals by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie, and sweeping views over the colorful badlands of the Painted Desert.

You can tour the beautifully restored historic building, admire its distinctive Pueblo Revival architecture, hand-crafted details, and the vivid murals painted by renowned Hopi artist Fred Kabotie, and learn about the inn's history serving Route 66 travelers and Civilian Conservation Corps craftsmanship. Large windows and the surrounding rim offer stunning views over the Painted Desert's banded hills. As a museum rather than a working inn, it invites visitors to step back in time and appreciate its art, history, and spectacular setting.

No, the Painted Desert Inn no longer operates as a hotel or restaurant, as it now serves as a historic museum and bookstore within Petrified Forest National Park, so there is no overnight lodging there. Visitors come to tour the landmark, enjoy the murals and architecture, and take in the desert views rather than to stay. It makes a wonderful short stop while exploring the park, offering history and scenery, but plan to lodge in nearby towns like Holbrook or Winslow.

Because the inn sits within Petrified Forest National Park, it can be visited during the park's daily open hours, so spring and fall are most comfortable, while summer is hot and winter cold but quiet, and the park closes at night. Morning and late-afternoon light are especially beautiful on the Painted Desert views from the inn's rim setting. Checking the park's and the inn's current hours before you go ensures the historic building is open for touring during your visit.

The inn is on the Painted Desert rim in the northern part of Petrified Forest National Park, near the park's overlooks, petrified wood trails, ancient petroglyphs, and historic Route 66 alignment. Beyond the park, the towns of Holbrook and Winslow, with the La Posada Hotel, and Homolovi State Park are within reach along Interstate 40. That makes the Painted Desert Inn an easy and enriching stop while exploring Petrified Forest and the high-desert Route 66 country of eastern Arizona.