The color of Painted Desert is at its best during the golden hours of the day. Unless camping inside the Park (with permit) it is impossible to capture sunrise color since the Park does not open after the sunrise. However, we were very fortunate to catch the late afternoon golden hour on the day we arrived. It was only for 15 minutes when the sun broke through the thick cloud and gave us the golden opportunity before the park ranger came over and told us to pack up as the Park was closing. Along with Petrified Forest this is a very beautiful and interesting landscape for photography but the Park’s operation hours make it very difficult.