19 miles away
Awatovi Ruins
A National Historic Landmark on the Hopi Reservation holding a pueblo about 500 years old and a 17th-century Spanish mission.
Painted Desert
A badlands region running from the Grand Canyon to Petrified Forest, known for the colour of its rock.
- Rank in Arizona
- #25of 727 ranked
- Overall score
- Score 61.7 out of 100medium confidence
- Category
- Natural Landmark
The Painted Desert is a region of badlands in the Four Corners area of the United States, running from near the eastern end of Grand Canyon National Park south-east into Petrified Forest National Park. It is most easily reached from the northern portion of Petrified Forest National Park. It is known for the range of colour in its rock, which includes the more common reds as well as shades of lavender.
Where it is
Painted Desert is a natural landmark near Ganado, in Navajo County. It is one of the natural landmarks in this database, and appears in the statewide ranking of Arizona attractions.
How this ranking was reached
No official visitor count is published for Painted Desert, so its score rests on public interest and tourism significance, and is capped below the level a measured attraction can reach. That is why the medium confidence above is not higher. The weighting is explained in full on the methodology page, and every axis is broken out under Facts and sources at the foot of this page.
Note on the data: No official visitor count is published for this attraction.
Sources
- Public interest: Wikimedia pageviews (en.wikipedia, human traffic), 2024
- Coordinates and designations: Wikidata(opens in a new tab)
- County: U.S. Census geography via FCC Area API, resolved from coordinates
Record last verified 2026-08-12.
More photographs
katsrcool, CC BY 2.0 · licence(opens in a new tab) · source(opens in a new tab) 
katsrcool, CC BY 2.0 · licence(opens in a new tab) · source(opens in a new tab)
Nearby attractions
31 miles away
Klagetoh Chapter House
A 1963 Navajo Nation chapter house in Klagetoh tied to leader Annie Dodge Wauneka, designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021.
32 miles away
Little Painted Desert County Park
A Navajo County park near Winslow with Painted Desert views considered best in early morning and late afternoon light.
33 miles away
Petrified Forest National Park
A national park of petrified wood and eroded badlands in north-eastern Arizona, crossed by historic Route 66.
33 miles away
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site
The oldest continuously operated trading post on the Navajo Nation, preserved as a National Historic Site.
33 miles away
Painted Desert Inn
A historic complex in Petrified Forest National Park overlooking the Painted Desert, near the original alignment of U.S. Route 66.
Facts and sources
Place
- Category
- Natural Landmark
- Destination
- Ganado
- County
- Navajo County
- State
- Arizona
Visitation
- Annual visits
- Not published
Ranking
- Overall score
- 61.7 / 100
- Visitation score
- No published count
- Popularity score
- 66.2
- Significance score
- 58.0
- Confidence
- medium
Visiting
- Coordinates
- 35.5003, -110.0840
- Last verified
- 2026-08-12