Famous cliff dwellings, villages built into the alcoves in the walls of mesas, in southern Colorado. Native American ruins are often overshadowed by those of the Inca and Maya, but here at Mesa Verde the engineering feats of the ancestral Puebloans are as inspiring as they are bewildering.

Mesa Verde isn’t just the famous Cliff Palace though. The park features over five thousand archeological sites, 600 of which are cliff dwellings. Square Tower House, Oak Tree House, Mug House, and Long House are all incredible in their own right. Other archeological sights include pit houses on top of the mesa. Structures were built around these ruins to prevent excessive erosion. Pit houses were one of the earliest homes built in Mesa Verde, before the ancestral Puebloans began building connected pueblo, around 750 C.E. Some time between 1100-1220 C.E. the Mesa Verdeans were driven into the cliffs as a defensive strategy during times of persistent warfare, possibly related to the decades of below-average rainfall in the area. By 1300, Mesa Verde was abandoned, along with countless other Native American sites across the Southwest, for still unknown reasons. The Cliff Palace laid abandoned for nearly six hundred years before it was rediscovered by some cattle ranchers looking for their cows.

Seeing the cliff dwellings from outlooks along the road is great, but in order to truly experience these amazing structures you need to get up close. The only way to do so is to take a ranger-lead tour. You can take a walk through Balcony House, Cliff Palace, and Long House and hear interesting history of the ancestral Puebloans and about the preservation of their masterpieces. These tours run roughly every hour, depending on the season (check the schedule below). From May to September, Cliff Palace tours run every half hour. Tickets can be purchased at the Visitor & Research Center, Morefield Ranger Station, the Museum, the Durango Welcome Center, or online. If you purchase online make sure you pick up your ticket at one of these locations before embarking on your tour.

Mesa Top Loop

This is the only road that is open all year long. Overlooks include view of Square Tower House, Cliff Palace, and Oak Tree House along with a number of pueblo ruins and pit houses preserved in metal buildings.

Mesa Top Ruins Road

This road, which is not always open, takes you to the parking lots above Cliff Palace and Balcony House (two separate sites) from which you hike down to the ruins with the aid of a park ranger. The Cliff Palace tour hike requires a walk down a stone staircase and a climb down four 10ft wooden ladders. Hemenway House can be seen from an overlook between Cliff Palace and Balcony House. The Balcony House tour is the most adventurous. After descending a number of metal staircases, entering the cliff dwelling requires you to climb a 32ft. wooden ladder and to squeeze through some tight spaces.

Wetherhill Mesa

Seeing the sites at Wetherhill Mesa requires a bit more walking. This is where you can find Long House, the second largest cliff dwelling in the park. A hike is required to get to Step House, and Kodak House can be seen from an overlook. It is 12mi. from the main park road to Wetherhill Mesa along a winding road with steep grades. Vehicles over 25ft. long are not permitted. This road may be closed in the winter.

TIPS

Shadows

Most of the cliff dwellings are tucked into alcoves on north-to-south running canyon walls with the openings facing West, so the sun does not hit them until after noon, perhaps as late as 1:00-2:00pm, so seeing (and taking pictures of) the ruins is challenging before then, especially if the contrasting Sun is in full force the day you visit.

Winter

While the park is open, you cannot fully experience Mesa Verde during winter months. The main attraction, Cliff Palace, can be seen from across the ravine, but you can’t hike to it. Generally, Cliff Palace Rd. and Wetherhill Mesa Rd are closed and ranger-lead tours of the cliff dwellings are not offered from October to May. Check the park website for more detailed information and exact dates, as each road and tour closes at various times and dates.

https://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/visitor_services_schedule.htm