Mesa Verde National Park

National Parks | Travel Inspiration | AAA World

Mesa Verde National Park

By John Moyer | October 18, 2021 | 4 min

Ancestral Puebloans inhabited this area for more than 700 years.

Kivas such as this one at Balcony House were believed to have been used by Ancient Puebloans for a variety of functions, including rites, spiritual ceremonies, and political meetings. The view from here down into Soda Canyon is stunning.

Balcony House dates back to the 13^th century. Excavated and stabilized in the early twentieth century, it’s now among the best preserved sites at Mesa Verde. now accessible through ranger-led tours. Its 38 rooms and two kivas housed up to 30 people.

A visit to Balcony House is the most adventurous of the three main cliff dwellings. Visitors on a ranger-led hike descend a steep trail, climb three ladders, squeeze through an 18-inch-wide ladder that extends for 12 feet as they explore this site built into a wide, low recess on the wall of Soda Canyon.

The largest cliff dwelling in North America, Cliff Palace has 150 rooms and was once home to around 100 people. The abandoned site was rediscovered by two ranchers looking for stray cattle in 1888. Ranger-led tours last one hour.

Long House at Mesa Verde National Park is the second largest cliff dwelling in the park, with a large open space where dances and ceremonies were performed. To reach the location in a remote area of the park on Wetherill Mesa, visitors hike 2.5 miles the site. Ranger-led tours take 2.5 hours.

A visitor peers into one of the rooms in the Long House cliff dwelling. Built in the 1200s and early equal in size to Cliff Palace with around 150 rooms, it may have been home to 150-175 people. It was rediscovered by the same ranchers who found Cliff House around a year earlier.

Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an International Dark Sky Place. About 1,400 years ago, it was home to 26 tribes of Ancestral Puebloans for 700 years. Nearly 5,000 archaeological sites, including excavated mesa-top villages and cliff dwellings, can be found within the park’s more than 52,000 acres.

You’ll need a vehicle to tour the park, as the first view of a cliff dwelling is about 21 miles inside the park

Start your visit at The Mesa Verde Visitor & Research Center near the park entrance. You can follow driving tours or, once in the park, take one of several ranger-guided tours. Only the Step House cliff dwelling on Wetherill Mesa can be accessed without a tour. Tour tickets are sold 14 days in advance online at recreation.gov. Since the ranger-guided tours are popular, purchase tickets as soon as they become available. Be sure to check the descriptions of the tour as some of the hikes can be strenuous.

Novice and experienced hikers will find challenges in the canyons and mesas (restricted to designated trails) and be rewarded with spectacular views from overlooks along the way and a varied ecosystem ranging from sagebrush valleys to Ponderosa pine in the mountains.

Once the stars come out, you’ll find yourself in one of the darkest regions in the continental US. The park’s high elevation (8,572 feet at Park Point), dry climate and general lack of light pollution all contribute to exceptional stargazing opportunities. While the archaeological sites are closed at night, you can stargaze from Morefield Campground, Far View Lodge and the many scenic overlooks along the park road.

Driving tour and trail maps are available, along with much more information, at nps.gov/meve.