Mesa Verde, Spanish for "green table", offers an unparalleled opportunity to see and experience a unique cultural and physical landscape that reflects more than 700 years of history. From approximately A.D. 600 through A.D. 1300 people lived and flourished in communities throughout the area, eventually building elaborate stone villages in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. These "cliff dwellings" represent the last 75 to 100 years of occupation at Mesa Verde. In the late 1200s within the span of one or two generations, they left their homes and moved away.
PARK INFORMATION
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Hours
Mesa Verde National Park is open year round 24 hours a day. Location The Park is located 143 miles south of Moab, Utah. The entrance to the park is 9 miles east of Cortez and 35 miles west of Durango in Southwestern Colorado on US Highway 160. Entrance Fees Fees vary based on season and vehicle capacity. For a full list of current prices, check the Mesa Verde National Park Fees & Reservations page. Camping The Morefield Campground is open from mid-May to mid-October. Morefield Campground is just 4 miles inside Mesa Verde. With nearly 400 sites, there’s always plenty of space! The campground rarely fills. Each site has a table, bench, and grill. Camping is open to tents, trailers and RVs, including 15 full hookup RV sites that require reservations. Morefield's campsites are situated on loop roads that extend through a high grassy canyon filled with Gambel Oak scrub, native flowers, deer, and wild turkeys. Several of the park’s best hikes leave from Morefield and climb to spectacular views of surrounding valleys and mountains. Wake to an all-you-can eat pancake breakfast at the café in Morefield’s full-service village. There's also a gas station, RV dumping station, coin-operated laundry, complimentary showers, a gift shop and a well stocked grocery store. Rates Start at $23 per campsite, per night + tax. Maximum of two vehicles, two tents. Reservations accepted. Group sites ($60 minimum) are available at $6 per night, per adult or child. Reservations accepted. Rates and dates are subject to change. (For current rate information, call 1-800-449-2288 or visit the ARAMARK website.) |
Mail:
Mesa Verde National Park PO Box 8 Mesa Verde, Colorado 81330 Phone: (Visitor Information) 970.529.4465 Email: General Information Visitor Center Hours April-October 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed Mid-October to mid-April Museum Hours: Open All Year January-Early March 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Early March-Early April 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Early April-Mid October 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mid October-Early November 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Early November-Late December 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Park Map: 
Click Here to view the Park Map Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader
Park Brochures:
Brochures can be found on the webpage for the National Park Service. |
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Food Service in the park: Spruce Tree Terrace, across from the Chapin Mesa Museum, is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sandwiches, salads, burgers and specials are offered. Far View Terrace, across from the Far View Visitor Center, is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. April through October. The Terrace is a full service cafeteria offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. Metate Room, Far View Lodge, is open for fine dining (casual dress) from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. |
CLIFF DWELLINGS
The archeological sites found in Mesa Verde are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States. Mesa Verde National Park offers visitors a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people. Scientists study the ancient dwellings of Mesa Verde, in part, by making comparisons between the Ancestral Pueblo people and their contemporary indigenous descendants who still live in the Southwest today. Twenty-four Native American tribes in the southwest have an ancestral affiliation with the sites at Mesa Verde.
To fully enjoy Mesa Verde National Park, plan to spend a day or two exploring its world-class archeological sites as well as its beautiful landscape. The entrance to the park is 9 miles east of Cortez and 35 miles west of Durango in Southwestern Colorado on US Highway 160.
Balcony House
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With 40 rooms, Balcony House is considered a medium size cliff dwelling. Only 10 sites in the park have more. Evidence of how room and passageway construction in the alcove evolved through time can easily be seen in Balcony House. Today, the tunnel, passageways, and modern 32-foot entrance ladder are what make it the most adventurous cliff dwelling tour in the park. Visitors may enter Balcony House by ranger-guided tour only. Tours are offered from late April to mid October. Purchase tickets for these one-hour tours at the Far View Visitor Center before driving to the site. |
Cliff Palace
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Recent studies reveal that Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and 23 kivas and had a population of approximately 100 people. Out of the nearly 600 cliff dwellings concentrated within the boundaries of the park, 75% contain only 1-5 rooms each, and many are single room storage units. If you visit Cliff Palace you will enter an exceptionally large dwelling which may have had special significance to the original occupants. It is thought that Cliff Palace was a social, administrative site with high ceremonial usage. Open 8:00 a.m. to sunset, the Cliff Palace Loop Road takes you past Cliff Palace, Balcony House, and overlooks to other cliff dwellings. You may enter Balcony House or Cliff Palace by ranger-guided tour only. Purchase tickets for these one-hour tours at the Far View Visitor Center before driving to the sites. |
Long House
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Long House was excavated between 1959 and 1961 as part of the Wetherill Mesa Archeological Project. This project, funded by the National Park Service and the National Geographic Society, excavated 15 sites on Wetherill Mesa between 1958 and 1963. Long House and Wetherill Mesa are only open between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day (the last Sunday in May through the first Monday in September). Long House is located on Wetherill Mesa in the western portion of Mesa Verde National Park. Long House is reached by driving out a 12 mile winding road that leaves the main park road just beyond the Far View Visitor Center parking lot. The steep, winding road follows an historic fire trail for 12 miles. Vehicle length is restricted to 25 feet or less. Along the route are a series of turnouts and overlooks with information about natural features and forest fires. At the end of the road you will find public restrooms, a snack bar, and an orientation area. There is a shaded area with a ranger on duty near the tram loading area. |
Spruce Tree House
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Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling (Cliff Palace and Long House are larger), was constructed between A.D. 1211 and 1278 by the ancestors of the Puebloan peoples of the Southwest. The dwelling contains about 130 rooms and 8 kivas (kee-vahs), or ceremonial chambers, built into a natural alcove measuring 216 feet (66 meters) at greatest width and 89 feet (27 meters) at its greatest depth. It is thought to have been home for about 60 to 80 people. The cliff dwelling was first discovered in 1888, when two local ranchers chanced upon it while searching for stray cattle. A large tree, which they identified as a Douglas Spruce (later called Douglas Fir), was found growing from the front of the dwelling to the mesa top. It is said that the men first entered the dwelling by climbing down this tree, which was later cut down by another early explorer. |
Step House
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Step House is unique because there is clear evidence of two separate occupations in the same site. A Modified Basketmaker site, dating to A.D. 626, is situated between the old stone steps on the south and the large boulders on the north. The rest of the alcove contains a masonry pueblo dating to Classic Pueblo times (A.D. 1226). Step House is a self-guided cliff dwelling. The 3/4 mile trail is steep (a 100 foot descent and ascent on a winding path). Your time in the site is self-paced so you can enter and exit at your leisure. There is a ranger on duty in the dwelling to answer questions between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Step House can be entered before or after a Long House tour. Allow approximately 45 minutes to visit the site in addition to the 1-1/2 hour long tour of Long House. The sites on Wetherill Mesa provide for much quieter and slower paced visit. It is worthwhile to spend at least half a day on Wetherill Mesa. It usually takes 3 to 4 hours to visit all of the Wetherill sites, but can easily take longer if someone wants to take advantage of all the walking trails in the area. |
MESA TOP SITES
Badger House Community
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The Badger House Community consists of several sites dating from about A.D. 650 to the late 1200s. There are four sites along a paved and gravel walking trail: Modified Basketmaker Pithouse, Developmental Pueblo village, Badger House, and Two Raven House. Allow approximately 45 minutes to complete the trail. A tram stop is available at trail’s end to take visitors back to the parking area. The tram will take visitors to the overlooks of Kodak House and Long House before returning to the main parking area. |
Cedar Tree Tower
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Cedar Tree Tower is one of several tower sites that have been discovered on the mesa tops. Towers were primarily built during the Classic period (A.D. 1100 to 1300) at Mesa Verde and are usually associated with a kiva. The purpose of a tower-kiva complex is not known. Some speculate that towers had a ceremonial purpose based on their close association with kivas. Other people propose that the mesa top towers were part of a communication system. |
Far View Sites Complex
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Far View was one of the most densely populated parts of the mesa from A.D. 900 to about A.D. 1300. Nearly 50 villages have been identified within a half square mile area, and were home to hundreds of people. Today, several excavated and stabilized sites are linked by a trail system within a short walking distance. These surface sites include Far View House, Pipe Shrine House, Coyote Village, Far View Reservoir, Megalithic House, and Far View Tower. Ancestral Puebloans were living at Far View at least 200 years before they began building the more famous Mesa Verde cliff dwellings. Excavation also reveals that many Ancestral Puebloans chose to remain in their mesa top community well after many of their neighbors moved into the cliff alcoves. |
Sun Temple
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According to modern Pueblo Indians, Sun Temple's features classify it as a ceremonial structure. Because neither household goods nor roof beams were found by archeologists at Sun Temple, some believe the symmetrically planned "D" shaped building was never completed. Yet its size alone points to the amount of labor that went into its construction. The stones in the fine masonry walls were shaped and given a "dimpled" flat surface by the builders of the structure. Based upon the amount of fallen stone removed during excavation, the walls probably were between 11 and 14 feet high. The thick walls were double coursed and filled with a rubble core. Today, modern concrete covers the top of the walls to prevent moisture from going into the rubble placed between the walls.
There is an eroded stone basin with three small indentations at the southwest corner of Sun Temple, next to the wall. This feature may have served as a sun dial to mark the change of seasons. |
HIKING TRAILS
Restrictions on hiking in Mesa Verde National Park are necessary to protect the fragile and irreplaceable archeological sites and artifacts for which the park was established. Hiking is only permitted around developed areas and on designated trails. Visitors found hiking away from these areas, or entering cliff dwellings when not accompanied by a uniformed National Park Service ranger, are subject to penalties provided for in Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Morefield Trailheads |
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| Prater Ridge Trail | .7.8 miles, round-trip | Begins on the west end of Morefield Campground. The trail ascends Prater Ridge and follows a loop around the top of the ridge, returning via the same route. A cut-off trail can be taken which shortens the trail to five miles.
Natural History: Changes in elevation and vegetation along with views of the surrounding area are highlights of this trail.
Trail Map & Profile (PDF) from the National Park Service |
| Knife Edge Trail | 2 miles, round-trip | The trail follows a section of the old Knife Edge Road, from the northwest corner of Morefield Campground towards the Montezuma Valley Overlook. This trail provides good views of Montezuma Valley and is an excellent place to watch a sunset. Trail guide available.
Cultural History: Built in 1914 as the main access into the park, old-timers still proudly talk about what a feat it was to build, or "hang," a road on this steep bluff. Trail Map & Profile (PDF) from the National Park Service |
| Point Lookout Trail | 2.2 miles, round-trip | The trail switchbacks up the back side of Point Lookout and traverses the top of the mesa. This trail provides excellent views of both Montezuma and Mancos valleys, as well as the surrounding countryside. Trail Map & Profile (PDF) from the National Park Service |
| Chapin Mesa Trailheads | Length | Description |
| Petroglyph Point Trail | 2.4 miles, round-trip | Begins from the Spruce Tree House trail, and continues below the edge of the plateau to a petroglyph panel, makes a climb to the top of the mesa and returns via the rim to the museum. This trail provides views of Spruce and Navajo Canyons and is the only trail in the park to view petroglyphs. Gate access to trail is only available when Spruce Tree House is open. Please contact a ranger for times the gate is open. Trail guide available. Registration required. Trail Map & Profile (PDF) from the National Park Service |
| Spruce Canyon Trail | 2.4 miles, round-trip | Begins from the Spruce Tree House trail, follows the bottom of Spruce Tree Canyon, turns up Spruce Canyon, and returns to the museum via the picnic area. Gate access to this trail is only available when Spruce Tree House is open. Please contact a ranger for times the gate is open. Registration required.
Natural History: The Spruce Canyon Trail offers an opportunity to explore the canyon bottoms of Mesa Verde and discover the plants and wildlife that live in this habitat. Trail Map & Profile (PDF) from the National Park Service |
| Soda Canyon Overlook Trail | 1.2 miles, round-trip | Begins one mile north of the Balcony House parking area along the Cliff Palace Loop Road. The trail is an easy walk to the canyon edge and offers views of Balcony House and other archeological sites along Soda Canyon.
Natural History: The trail goes through big sagebrush, Utah juniper, yucca, and gambel oak.This is a fairly low-growing, open area and will be hot in the summer. Trail Map & Profile (PDF) from the National Park Service |
| Farming Terrace Trail | .5 mile, round-trip | Beginning and ending on the spur road to Cedar Tree Tower, this 1/2 mile loop leads to a series of prehistoric check dams built by the Ancestral Puebloans to create farming terraces. Natural History: This trail is a good place to look for lizards, hummingbirds, and a wide variety of plants. |
| Wetherill Mesa Trailheads | Length | Description |
| All Wetherill Hiking Trails | N/A | Open Memorial Day to Labor Day Map & Profile of All Wetherill Hiking Trails (PDF) from the National Park Service. |
| Nordenskiold Site No. 16 Trail | 1 mile, round-trip | This trail offers a leisurely stroll on the quietest trail in Mesa Verde, and leads to an overlook of Nordenskiold Site No. 16. The 2000 Pony Fire severely burned this area. As a result, there is no shade available along the trail. Trail guide available.
Cultural History: In 1891, 23-year old Swedish scientist Gustaf Nordenskiold visited Mesa Verde. Using painstaking field methods for his time, he excavated many sites, including this one. His book, "The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde," was the first extensive examination and photographic record of Mesa Verde’s cliff dwellings. Trail Map & Profile (PDF) from the National Park Service |
Information and photos for this page provided by The National Park Service
