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U.S. national park in Colorado
Photo: Tobi 87, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Mesa Verde National Park is a United States national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the southwestern corner of the state of Colorado. Mesa Verde was the first park in the United States dedicated to preserving archeological remains rather than nature itself. The park is world-renowned for the incredibly well-preserved cliff dwellings it protects. Indeed, they are some of the most interesting archeological sites in North America. Mesa Verde is also notable for its desert landscape of tall mesas and steep canyons.
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Most of Mesa Verde's old park service buildings can be found here, with many of the structures here dating back to the 1920s. The park headquarters, Spruce Tree Terrace restaurant, post office, museum, and a picnic area are located here. Self-guided tour maps are available.
Located at milepost 20, the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum has exhibits about the culture of the Ancestral Puebloans, with artifacts from the region and dioramas illustrating life in Mesa Verde centuries ago. A 25-minute orientation film is shown every half-hour. A museum store, water, restrooms, cafe, gift shop, and post office are all located nearby.
Starting at the Chapin Mesa Museum, you descend 100 feet into Spruce Tree Canyon, where you'll see Mesa Verde's "best-preserved cliff dwelling". As well as seeing the cliff house, you can climb down into a reconstructed kiva. Rangers are at the site to answer questions (or make good conversation). In the winter (early-November through early-March), you may only visit the site by free ranger-guided tours, during the rest of the year you can explore it on a self-guided tour. Walking distance is 1/2-mile (1 km) round trip.
A 6-mile (10 km) driving tour with short, paved trails to several excavated mesa-top sites. Also along the tour is a short trail to the Square Tower House Overlook, Sun Point View (a spectacular overlook where you can see 6 or 7 cliff houses at the same time), and Sun Temple, a mesa-top ruin which boasts a spectacular view of Cliff Palace.
Located off the road in-between the Far View district and Chapin Mesa. An unpaved 3/4-mile loop trail leads to five separate mesa-top villages and a dry reservoir. Interesting exhibits along the trail show what the villages may have looked like.
Located off the road in-between the Far View district and Chapin Mesa. An ancient kiva complex and tower, the purpose of which isn't entirely known.
Starting at the Kiosk, trail descends 100 feet to the Step House cliff dwelling. A ranger is on-site to answer questions. Walking distance is 3/4-mile round trip.
Tour starts at the Cliff Palace overlook on the Cliff Palace Loop Road. This one-hour tour descends 100 feet to Mesa Verde's largest and most famous cliff house. Along the way you must climb five 8–10 ft ladders.
Tour starts at the Balcony House parking area on the Cliff Palace loop road. Balcony House is more "adventurous" than the other tours, for on this one-hour tour you have to climb a 32 ft ladder, crawl through a 12 ft-long tunnel, and to get out climb a 60 ft stairway carved out of a steep rock face. If you enjoy heights, this tour is for you; if you don't, you might want to pass on this one.
Tour starts at the Wetherill Mesa Kiosk, where you take a tram to the Long House trailhead. This 90-minute tour involves climbing two 15 ft ladders.
7.8 miles round-trip. Beginning on the west end of Morefield Campground, the trail ascends Prater Ridge and follows a loop around the top of the ridge.
2 miles round-trip. Starting at the northwest corner of Morefield Campground, this trail follows the old Knife Edge Road, which was built in 1914 as the main access into the park. Great view of Montezuma Valley at the end. Trail guides are available.
2.2 miles round-trip. Starting at the northeast corner of Morefield Campground, this trail switchbacks up the side of Point Lookout, the mesa you will see on the road into the park.
2.4 miles round-trip. Starting at the Spruce Tree House trail, this trail travels down Spruce Tree Canyon, then climbs to the rim of Chapin Mesa and winds back around to the museum. This is the only trail in Mesa Verde where you can see petroglyphs. Registration (free of charge) is required to hike this trail. Trail guides are available.
2.4 miles round-trip. Beginning at the Spruce Tree House trail, this trail goes down the bottom of Spruce Tree Canyon and winds back around to Spruce Canyon, then climbs back up to Chapin Mesa at the picnic area. Registration (free of charge) is required to hike this trail.
1.2 miles round-trip. Starting about a mile north of the Balcony House parking area on the Cliff Palace loop road, this trail winds around the canyon edge and ends at an overlook of Balcony House.
1 mile round-trip. Starting at the Wetherill Mesa Kiosk, this trail ends at an overlook of Nordenskiold Site No. 16, one of the first excavated sites in Mesa Verde.
A combination gravel and paved trail to the mesa-top Badger House sites. Trail starts at the Kiosk, and is 2.5 miles (4 km) round-trip. However, you can take the tram and shorten your walking distance to 1.5 miles.
A variety of somewhat-overpriced food in several styles (burgers, pizza, Southwestern, Native American, etc.) is available in this cafeteria. The dining room has a large window facing some of the mesas and canyons of the park.
Burgers, sandwiches and salads. $4–$8.
A surprisingly sophisticated dining experience located in the otherwise mediocre Far View Lodge. The Metate Room offers an excellent dinner service and as well as gorgeous views that can extend as far as 100 miles out on a clear day. The food is an innovative take on Southwest cuisine, with dishes such as the Blue Corn and Pinenut Dusted Trout ($22) and Marinated Grilled Quail with Chili Polenta ($27) combining upscale dining with regional ingredients. The restaurant also offers a great list of Colorado wines. Casual dress. $15–$30.
Open for breakfast during the summer months.
Open May–October. This is the only hotel in the park and it's best described as "rustic." There are 150 rooms in a motel-type layout, all non-smoking and with private balconies. There are no TVs in the rooms and the property is showing its age. Although the rooms can be quite pricey during peak season, don't expect luxury. However, if you're OK with clean, no-frills lodgings in a very convenient location, it's a good bet. When booking, request a room at the front of the lodge (rooms numbered in the 100s); many of these do indeed have breathtaking "far views." However, many of the rooms toward the back of the property have their views obscured by other buildings or trees, which the hotel operators can't remove as they're protected within a national park.
This is the only campground in the park. The campsites are quite nice, most of them with lots of trees for privacy (and the campground rarely fills up), and all of them have a table, bench, and grill. There are also 15 RV sites with full hookups (recommend reservations if you wish a full hookup site). The restrooms are clean, and there are free showers. At the entrance to the campground is a store (where you can get gas, groceries and camp supplies), an RV dumping station, and a 24-hour laundromat. Open mid-May through mid-October. $24+Tax/night (RV sites with hookups $34+tax/night). Check-in is anytime during open hours and check-out is at 11AM at the campground store.
By plane
Cortez has a small airport with daily flights to Denver on Great Lakes Airlines.
There are four main areas of the park: Morefield Campground is just inside the park, 4 miles from the entrance.
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Cortez · Regional · CEZ
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