Mesa Verde National Park

This place is awesome. So interesting to view the Ancestral Puebloan dwellings. On the day we were there there was a descendent of these Ancestral Puebloans that was giving a demonstration of tool making. He was also letting visitors try it out too.

Mesa Verde National Park is the sole National Park devoted to a manmade monument rather than something natural like Yellowstone or Yosemite. It’s in a secluded part of Colorado, not far from the Four Corners. One can get amazing tours of the Cliff Palace, the kivas, Balcony House. One gets a sense of the vast scope of history out on the Colorado Plateau. The Anasazi who dwelled in Mesa Verde’s vast apartment complexes were the ancestors of today’s Zuni&Hopi. Traditional-​minded Navajo considered the Anasazi «ancient ones» or «ancient enemies» depending on the translation.
Mesa Verde has strenuous climbs that are worth it. The tickets for the ranger-​led hikes are priceless. If Colorado is life elevated, this is the place.

My housemate and I did a side-​excursion to Mesa Verde while on our return business trip from Phoenix. Due to exhaustion and heat (and heat-​exhaustion), we mostly stuck to the roads and a few short trails just off the roads, deciding we’d do a proper tour of the area when we have more time and didn’t have the dog (as dogs aren’t allowed on the trails). Still…
The views and history are amazing, as is the museum. While it’s a good 20+ miles before you get to the museum and most of the ruins, the drive up the mountain still offers some spectacular views. I suspect those who are unable to make the hikes and climbs amid the ruins can still see many of the notable Mesa Verde sites, with views from a distance that are still amazing. What I saw was absolutely astounding, yet I still missed most of the park. This is the kind of place I could spend days and days exploring, then explore some more on a regular basis. I can’t wait to be back.

We had a great time at Mesa Verde. Initially we were a little disappointed, we arrived at the welcome center in Cortez to buy the tour tickets for the next day around 3pm and everything for long house was sold out, Cliff Palace was nothing till 3.30pm and Balcony House 12.30pm.
We booked in for Balcony House, we were only in town for a short time so couldn’t do Cliff Palace, and so we did a driving tour around the loop roads in the morning before the tour started. We arrived about 8am to try and beat the tourist traffic, there’s camping so you can come as early as you like.
It was the memorial day long weekend, so it was the busiest weekend of the year, the first weekend that the guided tours were open & there’s about 40 people on each tour. Although it was the busiest weekend of the year, we were surprised that parking wasn’t really an issue, especially early in the morning.
From the Mesa top loop, you get some great views of the outside of Cliff Palace and learn all about the pit houses. The small loop near Spruce Tree House had a good museum and bookstore. You can’t go right to Spruce tree house at the moment due to a rock fall but I believe the walks were still open.

Today we toured the Balcony House with Ranger Jane Tank. It was awesome! She is a super knowledgeable archeologists and a great story teller. If you’re in the area be sure and add this to your list of must do’s. The Balcony House tour is sporty as you have to climb a 32 foot ladder and squeeze through a couple of tunnels but it’s totally worth it. What an amazing natural resource and n this area.

This is one of those parks that people don’t talk about much. May not be as popular, but this is truly a must see. I know it’s out of the way (for us California folk). I truly believe it is so rich in history, so amazing… a bucket list must do!

5* Mesa Verde National Park
Fantastic display of Puebloan buildings built into the rock alcoves
Check out the nice Visitors’ Center with a free video
Loved the Spruce Tree and Cliff Palace sites
5* Spruce Tree
Can walk down to cliff dwellings
The trail continues to the petroglyphs
5* Cliff Palace
Purchase tickets at Visitor Center; given time certain
One hour guided tours by park ranger; we liked Bailey; she was cool and very informative
Difficult walk/​climb; not recommended for small children and limited ambulatory persons; lots of difficult walk and have to climb ladders
Recommend that you go early in the day

I give two stars not to the ancient pueblo ruins, but to the overall condition and maintenance of the park facilities itself.
COME ON! This is a National Park! For gods sake, can’t you fund a can of paint to paint the railings, or find the cash to put up signs at the turn outs where there is now just hanging chains?
This park built a very beautiful visitor center that it can be proud of, but other then the actual ruins, this park is sorely lacking in the maintenance department.
At many of the self guided sites the informational signage was completely unreadable! Scratched out or faded out beyond legibility. How are we to appreciate what we are looking at when we can’t read about it?
Mesa Verde «National Park»…maybe once it was, but it sorely needs more than just a visitor center and a campground out of the 60’s…

Absolutely spectacular national park… it is deceiving when you drive in as you would have no idea what awaits behind those mountains. The cliff dwellings are well preserved and so impressive to walk through. The views are stunning and the cliff dwellings «pop» out of nowhere. This is definitely a place worth visiting in your lifetime… just amazing!

A really special experience, that would have been more magical without the packs of humans. We should have done a hike, but we were in a time crunch, so you see what you can. Personally– I don’t have as good a time, when I cannot have my own moments, and space, with a place. The park says the Anasazi on most of the displays, but I read that now they are described as the ancestral Puebloan native americans. It is fascinating that they would climb up the cliffs like it was nothing, on a regular basis. The displays and museums are great for projecting daily life into the ghostly dwellings left here.
We were not able to go on any tours, they sell out fast. I think if you are going to be in the area for a couple days, you can buy tickets for the next business day at the park. I had wanted to go to the cliff palace, but that was not in the cards. So we did all of the walking tours you can do on your own. I did see the tour of the cliff palace, from afar, while we were at the solar temple. You cannot actually go into that structure. I have heard that erosion has been getting to the dwellings, and you may want to push your visit sooner than later.

Breathtaking. Amazing. HUGE. I wish we’d had 4 days instead of 4 hours to explore this place. There are so many places to pull off of the road and explore. We’ve been to Bandalier in New Mexico a couple of times, and it’s so incredible to think that these cliff civilizations were just trucking along for centuries, over such a vast and harsh swath of land. And yet we can’t handle ourselves when a few inches of snow fall. A very resilient people have left us an incredibly well-​preserved glimpse into their lives of long ago. I feel so lucky to be able to go to places like these. LONG LIVE NPS!

I would never say there’s a bad National Park, just some that are a bit less than good. This one is going up near the top of my list because there is just so much to see and do.
Besides the cliff dwellings, which are remarkable beyond words, there is plenty of hiking. You can also just drive through the park and marvel at the beauty of this area. Be careful though, as a deer jumped out in front of the car ahead of me and was almost hit — lots of wildlife.
To do tours of most of the famous cliff dwellings, you’ll have to buy tickets. You can get your tickets at the visitor center BEFORE you enter the park. I almost didn’t stop there, thinking the tickets would be sold elsewhere. You’ll also want to show up early as some tours (like Cliff Palace) are very popular and sell out quickly for the best times.
It’s on my list of parks to return to.

We did both balcony and cliff place both are an hour long tour that was definitely worth it. Went early August, go early in the day cause it does get pretty warm on the hike. Avoid the mid day cause there’s lots of traffic, especially if ur behind tour busses lucky there are sections that lets you pass cars

Loved Mesa Verde National Park. The cave dwellings are amazing. There are several you can only visit with a ranger tour but even the ones that don’t require a tour are awesome. There was a hike we did to see some hieroglyphics and they were cool but the real pay off was at the end of the hike which ended with you on top of the mountain and a stunning view.
We camped at Mesa Verde and I really liked it. It is not secluded but there are bushes that separate you from other campsites so you feel like you have privacy. Deer were coming up to our campsite while we were setting up which was very cool and the price for camping isn’t bad at all. Definitely good for a weekend stay.

I came here last summer with my family (late review I know) and I really, really loved it. Our tour guide was enthusiastic and hilarious, even though he must give the same speeches over and over. It was cool to go down into the hole and imagine what life was really like back then.
The gift shop had a lot of very interesting and unique things as well.
I really recommend this for any Coloradoan. We made a road trip out of it and it was one of the cheapest mini-​vacations you could ask for.

National parks are all must-​see places. I haven’t been to a single one that wasn’t an enjoyable experience.
Mesa Verde features not only excellent examples of cliff-​dwellings, but great hiking. With a visit earlier this year, I explored the Spruce Tree House and then hiked the nearby Spruce Canyon trail. Disappointingly, the petroglyph trail was closed due to ice on the trail.
My time at the Spruce Tree cliff dwelling was made all the more enjoyable and informative by the presence of an awesome park service interpretive ranger. She knew her stuff. It helped that I was the first one there in the morning and had her all to myself for a good while. I recommend not only visiting these interesting dwellings but also taking advantage of the expertise the rangers offer.
After that, I headed down the Spruce Canyon trail, a two and half mile trek involving a good bit of elevation change. It descends a spur of Spruce Canyon on the side where Spruce House is located, then crosses over and ascends the main branch of Spruce Canyon, effectively circling the park visitor center area.
Great hike, especially since there was quite a bit of snow and ice — that made the scenery even better.
There’s much more to see, of course, and I intend visiting again when I’m in southwestern Colorado.

This is a beautiful national park with plenty of easy trails to explore. I came with my husband and two friends Memorial weekend of last year. It wasn’t packed or anything during this time. This could be do to the weather not being that great. It actually hailed as soon as we set up camp and continued to rain off and on the remainder of the trip.
There was a lot of deer to see. They literally just hung around the campsites. The drive to get to where all the trails are is quick and easy from the campsite. I wish I could remember the name of the trails we did because they all had something amazing to see.
I recommend getting to the park early, mapping out everything you want to see and do and definitely camping there as well.

First things we did upon driving through the gate was park at the main visitor center and walk inside to buy tickets (mandatory) to reserve our preferred tour times at both Cliff Palace and Balcony House. The ranger-​led tours were the only way to walk through these specific ancient ruins and it was worth it. Balcony House required scooching through a tunnel to get to the main area of the dwelling and then climbing up an exposed, large, wooden ladder to exit. Not for those with fear of heights! Cliff Palace requires climbing up steep rock steps and also a tall wooden ladder to exit.
Much forewarning is made at the time of ticket purchase, as well as by the ranger at the start of the tour, about these potential physical challenges. What they didn’t mention, and we failed to consider, was the potential effects of high altitude on a person, i.e. one of our family became ill with altitude sickness on the Balcony House tour but managed to complete the program. Altitude inside the park ranges from near 7,000′ — 8,400+’.
Our tour guide convinced us to allow the park EMT to give a once over and stayed with us, patiently, even though it was after hours now, until the family member felt comfotable enough to walk. They suggested lots of fluids and going into the nearby town for the night as a drop in elevation would help.
When symptoms failed to improve later that night, we ended up going to Southwest Memorial Hospital’s ER in Cortez. Staff and service was so professional that we were able to remain the duration of our visit with that member resting while the rest of us went back up in elevation to see Spruce Tree House (hike in, no tour/​no fee required but ranger on site for questions), which is a destination included in the self-​guided drive tour of the Mesa Top Loop. Our recovering family member had already seen this on a previous trip. The Loop Drive also affords a view of Cliff House from the opposite side of the canyon.
I wish I had names to thank but failed to jot them down. The park staff was outstanding and cared about their visitors as much as the park they protected. The ER staff was professional and knowledgeable. Your efforts on our behalf helped our visit to be one that we will remember fondly. This park is definitely worth your while!!! 5 stars!!!
Morefield Campground had many tent sites and 15 full hookup sites requiring reservations. Flush toilets were in the campground, and hot pay showers were about a mile back down the road, at the park market/​gift shop/​laundry facilities. Back-​in gravel sites, not level. 3 Stars!!! Hiking trails in the area.

I was recently visiting 17 national parks/​monuments/​historic sites.
Of all the parks I have been to, I think the rangers at Mesa Verde looked like they loved their jobs the most. I toured Spruce Tree house and Balcony House. The rangers I met at both locations were not only informative, but also extremely enthused about what they were sharing. I came into this park not expecting much from it, but the conversations I had with the rangers made the trip worth it.
Now to the park itself, I am glad I went on a tour of the Balcony House. There were parts of the tour where I was climbing up ladders or through tunnels inside the cliff dwellings. How many archeological tours have you been on that would allow that? Not many. As for the Spruce House, a short walk from the main visitor center, I got to climb down into a kiva.
One last note, turkey vultures are EVERYWHERE!

Mesa Verde is a fantastic national park and a must see during your trip to the Four Corners area. This area was home to the Ancestral Pueblo people for over 700 years. They built sandstone communities within the shelter of the canyon walls, some of which are extremely well preserved and open for everyone to explore today. Archaeological work in some of the dwellings is ongoing so some areas are closed off. Much has been discovered about this ancient culture’s lifestyle but many mysteries remain.
We had a pretty tight time frame on the day of our visit but I felt like we experienced some of the park’s top offerings during our half day. Here was our itinerary:
9:30 a.m. — 10:00 a.m.: We stopped at the Visitor Center to purchase tickets for a tour of Cliff Palace and grab a map of the park. The Visitor Center is the only place you can purchase tickets for any of the guided tours, so plan accordingly.
10:00 a.m. — 11:00 a.m.: We drove along the main road, stopping once at one of the overlooks with a beautiful view of the Mancos Valley. In the interest of time, we decided to skip the remaining overlook stops along the road. We found easy parking in the designated lot in front of Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and Spruce Tree Terrace.
11:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m.: We walked down to check out Spruce Tree House, one of the two cliff dwelling communities you can explore on your own. We beat the crowd, so we were able to take our time and get a good look around. From there, we hiked the 2.4 mile long Petroglyph Point Trail that follows the canyon wall up to the rim and loops back around to the parking area. We were slightly underwhelmed by the petroglyphs since there weren’t that many and they were kind of hard to see but the hike was super fun and the views are amazing.
1:00 p.m. — 3:00 p.m.: We drove down to Cliff Palace and had a leisurely picnic before our tour. Our tour guide, Kim, was excellent. She was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and patient. I gotta give kudos to the rangers — they move the tours in and out very expeditiously. It was super cool to walk around in such a large cliff dwelling and imagine what life must have been like way back around 1200 AD.
Mesa Verde is a place you can visit multiple times and have a completely different experience each time. Everything is fairly spread out and the conspicuous signs all around the park make it easy to navigate your way around. I’m happy we were able to explore these ancient cliff dwellings. They must be some of the oldest structures in our country and I’m grateful they’ve been so lovingly preserved in this beautiful national park.