The 7-mile (12-kilometer) trek through the eerily silent desert plains is one of the easier Patagonian hikes, and one of the least crowded ones, too. Tours of La Leona Petrified Forest also tend to stop at La Leona hotel—a place where infamous outlaws such as Butch Cassidy hid to escape the law—and typically depart from El Calafate. You can also see the towering peak of Mt. Fitzroy from the lunar landscapes.
Make sure you’re wearing sturdy hiking boots to tackle the uneven and rocky surfaces you’ll be covering.
Aside from La Leona hotel and a small shop, there aren’t any other places to buy drinks or snacks during the hike, so take plenty with you.
The area is completely unshaded, so wearing sunscreen and a hat comes highly recommended.
You can book an overnight stay at La Leona hotel.
From El Calafate, it takes about 1.5 hours to reach La Leona hotel, which marks the start of the La Leona Petrified Forest hike. The 70-mile (110-kilometer) drive goes via the RP11 and RN40 route, and you’ll find paid parking at La Leona hotel.
Though this hiking route is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it’s advisable to arrive in the early morning and complete the trek before the sun reaches its peak in mid-afternoon. The best time to hike it is from October to April, which is Patagonia’s dry, summer season.
Even though the dramatic landscapes of Patagonia might suggest otherwise, the area offers plenty of hikes suitable for beginners. Some of the best include trekking over the catwalks of the Pertio Moreno glacier, which are all wheelchair accessible, and walking around the shores of Laguna Nimez, which is a breeding ground for pink flamingos and swans.
