Painted Rock Mountains Painted Rock Mountains The Painted Rocks Mountains are a short 15-mile (24 km) long mountain range of the north-central Sonoran Desert southwest of Phoenix, Arizona and in southwest Maricopa County. The Gila River flows through the central-north end of the range. The famous Painted Rock Petroglyph Site lies at the northeast end of the range, adjacent the Painted Rock Reservoir, and the reservoir lies at the eastern end of the agricultural river valley that is locally names as the Lower Gila River Valley, extending approximately from the Colorado River at Yuma to the west and the reservoir at the east.
Painted Desert Inn as the Stone Tree House due to much local petrified wood used in its architectural elements. After post-war design revisions by architect Mary Jane Colter, it was operated by the Fred Harvey Company as a Harvey House from 1947 to 1963, when it closed. Demolition was proposed in the mid-1970s, but after public protests the building was reopened for limited use in 1976. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The main lodge building of the Painted Desert Inn was extensively rehabilitated and restored, reopening as a museum and bookstore in 2006. Overnight accommodations and food service are