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Except Christmas Day
April 1 to Labor Day
               9am-6pm
Labor Day to April 1
               9am-5pm
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"Grand Canyon of Mississippi" might be another name for the Mississippi Petrified Forest. Erosion has uncovered the large trees, once part of a mighty forest washed downstream by a great flood-swollen river. After millions of years, the trees became rocklike and broke into sections. Most of the log sections are from five to ten feet in length now, but they lay together to show that the trees were over one hundred feet tall and perhaps a thousand years old -- taller and bigger that any presently in the State.

The most photographed log is the "Caveman's Bench," which lies right on the Forest Trail just where the eroding sands had placed it. Everyone tries it out for size, and it is a favorite spot for taking pictures. In the old piece of canyon wall beside the Bench are a number of log sections still embedded, which were once all part of the same huge tree.

Walk along the Nature Trail and pause to read the Trail Guide at each point of interest. Moving at a leisurely pace, you begin to see the story of the Mississippi Petrified Forest unfold. Seeing all of the natural beauty surrounding the Trail, and hearing the sounds of nature, you will always be near to the huge logs that lie right next to the trail, some close enough to touch -- to feel the rugged roughness of stone beneath your fingers where there was once bark and wood - a living tree.

This is the "Frog," so named many years ago. He seems to have a smile for you as you look at his face. It really doesn't take a lot of imagination to see that he does look like a big, fat, overgrown frog. Frog sits patiently while you take his picture, or while a child pats his nose. He is sure to put a smile on your face.

The huge stone logs give us a glimpse into prehistoric time. What a primeval forest there must have been when these stone logs were living trees. What tremendous trees they must have been, some with trunks that may have measured twelve to fifteen feet across, their towering branches cresting a hundred or more feet into the sky. How few living trees there are today that can match the magnificence of these stone logs, giants of their own time and gigantic to us today.

The Mississippi Petrified Forest is a place of beauty and peaceful quiet. It almost seems to cast a soothing spell. At times there will be a sweet scent of wildflowers and honeysuckle vines, or the more pungent fragrance of the pine and cedar. Birds sing a musical interlude. More than a collection of old stone logs, this place is truly a living, ever-changing wonder, placed as a rare jewel for a man to ponder and enjoy

The Earth Science Museum contains a large map with examples of petrified wood found in every state, and foreign petrified wood is represented as well. Plant life through the ages is shown by a variety of leaves, fruits, cones and bark. There are also fossil woods identified as to species. Many other kinds of fossils are on display - dinosaur footprints, whale bones, turtle shells, and many others -- even a complete cast of a prehistoric camel.