Address: Mesa Verde, CO, USA
Phone: +19705294465
Bryan Rodriguez
We enjoyed the historical tour tremendously! Our group had 10 people including 4 children and everyone enjoyed every bit of it. The total hike was roughly 2.5 miles. Very doable for all ages. We had a 3 & 5 year old that completed the whole tour easily. Great views and history lesson for our 12 & 13 yr old girls. I would highly recommend this tour to everyone who is interested in our lost history.
Jason Manwaring
Always worth a visit! This was our first time bringing the kids, and there were a couple moments where it was hot and the sun beat down pretty hard, but they kept going (or we never stopped pushing them) and they had a good time and a good attitude about the whole place by the time we were done. The cliff dwellings are amazing, as are the Mesa top ruins. I do recommend getting tickets for the main attractions well in advance, because if you wait until the day of you won't get to do it.
Barbara V.
The landscape and views into the valley are stunning. A variety of overlooks and trails of varying difficulty are available; some require reservations and are guided (these include ladders and crawl spaces). The ruins/dwellings/history are awe-inspiring. So unique compared to anyplace else I've visited. Our favorite self-guided tour was Step House. What challenging lives the mesa-top and cliff dwellers had! The history of Mesa Verde is remarkable and wondrous.
Ron Fifer
Wow! My wife and I visited here 20± years ago when our kids were small, we both were so impacted by the incredible beauty and mystery of this place, that we had to come back and experience it again. This time we brought the Harley and rode throughout the park and it did not disappoint! The cliff dwellings are truly awe inspiring. Come early and stay late, sunsets are amazing here.
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If you google search 'Mesa Verde Accessibility' it will bring you to a NPS page asking what type of accessibility issue. Then click on the page listed as 'Physical/Mobility' Here, it breaks down different places within Mesa Verde and options depending on whether you need assistance or not. This is a great page, detailing all sites/options within the park.
Most of the park other than the hiking trails is very easy to get to. So you could easily get to most of the main parts and get some great photos
Specifically no one knows. Beliefs are climatic changes or a long term draught caused the people of Mesa Verde to abandon the area and go elsewhere. They possibly joined or massed into other smaller groups that became the Southwest native Americans-like Comanche, Apache, Zia, Pueblo, etc.
Park admission jjst gets you and your car load into the park. The tours of balcony house and cliff palace are extra. You can get tickets for the tours at the museum near the park entrance or at the visiters center. If you want to see either of these places, a tour is required as you cant go on your own. I would recommend cliff palace as it is the easier of the two and there is no crawling required. Tickets are $5 per person. If you are worried about physical limitations, go to the museum at the park entrance to see what your up against. The people that work there are very helpful. Camping is also extra. I dont believe any of the sites have hookups. I think it is around $30 per night, but im not sure. The sites can be close together, but the showers near the camp store are the best showers ive seen in any campground. They are old and maybe a bit dirty, but you have all the room you need and the shower heads are divine. Please dont poop in the showers...
The view points are gorgeous and the history is fascinating. I rather enjoyed the motor cycle ride. I do recommend more than 1 day to see all the sites and historical landmarks though.
The indians lived there starting around 600 AD to 1300 AD. The park was established on June 29, 1906.
There's a lot of great outdoors and actual Pueblo's and great hiking trails.
Droughts of 40 to 70 years and longer have occurred repeatedly throughout the southwest and Mexico. Long term drought is the most believed reason that the Mayans abandoned their cities also. Water is life. The entire area is subject to el nino and la nina Pacific conditions.
My family and I personally saw the park as a day trip, with a outside the park hired tour guide, who then took us on a driving tour through the park, stopping and giving history and information on each site, as well as then going in the Park Service's tour of the cliff dwellings themselves. It was a truely epic experience, and in short, yes can do this as a day trip, but there is also more that can be seen with more time spent there.
You can enter the park and walk trails, including trails to Step House and the Long House Overlook, without advance planning. There is an entry fee for the park. The Visitors Center, Museum, and many indoor facilities are closed, although the Visitors Center book store was open.
If you're a city dweller.. and have never experienced the national parks or the national park system, then I don't think life would change very much. Of course the habitats would change the wildlife the ecosystems and everything else would be bought and sold on the ebb and flow of GREED.
I worked as part of a watershed project for the area, cedar gnats generally come out during warm months. We do have a lot of tamarisk beetles. They are consuming the non native species of trees. If you visit the park, you'll see some dead russian olive trees and tamarisk trees and thank the yellow and green stripped beetles that land on you. They are harmless, and a friend of watershed projects!
I don't believe you can park an rv at the park. There are a few close by though that you can find by googling
My suggestion is to call them
Durango
You can bike the 6 mile loop on the Long House side of the park. It's a paced, flat pedestrian only area. It's the best way to cover a lot of ground. They used to have a trolly but eliminated it and allow bikes on instead. I would highly recommend. We saw bikes and also talked to our ranger guide about it.
Numerous Puebloans called this place home and were buried here.
Some historians believe a drought in the late 11th century caused the residents to leave.
yes. It is about Indiana culture
You can stay in the park at Farview Lodge, which is a great place to stay, and isn't too bad at around $150/night. It's so nice being in the park. The drive from Cortez or Durango isn't bad, but already being 15-ish miles into the park is great. Everything is so close. If you're looking for something less expensive, Cortez has a good variety of budget hotels as does Durango. Just make sure to eat at El Burro Pancho (Gustavo's) or La Casita de Cortez in Cortez. The two best Mexican food places in all of Colorado. So much yum!
There are some dwellings that are self guided, but to see some of the others such as the cliffs palace, balcony house, And the long house, a guide is required.
The book store at the entrance. Not the visitor center at the entrance. I went to park point and the step house. I walked to the archeological village sites. All the trails. There were a lot of rangers. I don't know about tours. And of course the wild horses were open.
Didnt see any dispersed camping there. Only a campground inside the park.
Give yourself plenty of time because there may be a line at entry and it is a slow drive to that other end of the park give yourself an hour ahead of time I would think....
Step house visit along with a hike is a must do. Definitely there are many more, and weather mill Mesa hike as recommended above is a good one.
We were there about a week ago and it was closed. That said, there is so much to do on the other plateaus that we really didn't mind a bit. The famous photographers overlook to Cliff Palace is still open, as it is part of the other loop in that area of the park.
The cliff palace and spruce house are closed right now.
I'm happy to answer as I live 15 minutes from Mesa Verde and have been going since age 12; am now 64. These are the five major dwellings you can see: Balcony House, Cliff Palace, Long House, Spruce Tree, Tower House, Step House. There are a lot more minor sites that are smaller but those are the major ones.
I was there last weekend. Cliff dwellings are closed off so you will be able to see everything from a vantage point. You'll won't need to walk much at all to see the views.
Paths are paved,but a bit curvy. Great views are available to anyone whether with physical challenges or no. Bring binoculars or a telescopic camera lens to check out details clearly!
I did not see any.
Yes you can get to everything. Buses go up there to all the sites
If you are only in the state visiting and this is your only chance to go then I say by all means go! I have been in the dwellings in person and I also went last month and just saw them from the overlook. They are beautiful and no matter how you get to experience them.
We just drove in using our senior pass for free entry. Tours are currently closed. But we were able to view the Pueblo ruins from the pullovers.
Good luck
If you get there before 6 am there was no one at the gate. As a disabled vet, I have a national park pass, but I suggest getting there early anyways to watch the sunrise over the Mesa
I don't know about the park itself, but I do know many of the roads to the overlooks close at sunset. Definitely call to check hours. We were there last weekend and our experience was great! Most of the overlooks at self-guided trails were open, as was the Far View Gift Shop and the campground. Everyone was friendly and helpful. All of the restrooms and water fountains we stopped at were open and working. The dog day-boarding was also open and they were wonderful!
Yes it is open. No tours into the dwellings. Just overlooks. Recommend Far View sites, Mesa top loop. And of course the cliff palace overlooks. Short hike on easy path to balcony house overlooks
I did not stay at a hotel, but when everything opens back up I do believe that dogs will be allowed in some of the hotel's.
Plenty of wildlife including bears, foxes, coyotes, deer, elk, bobcats, mountain lions, lots of birds but you won't see all of them at the same time of year.
Would not know if park will be closed.
A little over 6 hours
Ancestral Pueblo. Formerly called Anasazi which is the word for enemy in Navajo, a rival tribe, not very flattering. Pueblo means the people in their own language.
Yes, you can enter the park. The visitors center at the entrance will be closed.
Expensive, but it fills the void. Generally when out touring these kinds of places I find it's more cost effective and convenient to pre-plan and take snacks or even meals with me. Mesa Verda has some phenomenal picnicing amenities to use along the loop as well.
I have been snowed out and I suppose during monsoon season being out in the open up high could be problematic
Park is open. Definitely not as busy as peak of summer. There may not be as much staff at this time of year, so programs, tours, and facilities may be reduced.
Theodore Roosevelt declared it a National Park. If that's what you're asking.
I was amazed at how much I enjoyed it. But yes walking. They were tuffer then we are. Their daily life was difficult.
Generally there is a bit of both when touring the cliff dwellings.
There's a kennel at the campground so that you can go on the hiking tours that require ladders to enter and exit.
The park closes at sundown literally and they do not let ppl drive at night
I am not even sure about service dogs. All trails are marked. No dogs. The spruce trail And the one that has the hyraglyphics are to rough on people. I would not want my dog on it.
The tours are $5 per person and are scheduled throughout the day. You buy the tickets at the visitor center. The group size is about 50, so have to be there early on busy days. Center opens at 0730.
To take one of two tour with a ranger you need to purchase tickets. They are $5 per person. But must of them can be seen by driving the park and pulling over at the over looks. The one shot I have of Cliff Palace was taken across the canyon from it. Balcony House has a bit more walking to get to so I couldn't answer on it. My husband has a very bad back so we saw most by car and pulling over to take pictures of everything
Hiking would require a full day. There are tours and many hikes. Driving thru and looking at all the stops is a minimum of 2 to 3 hours.
Someone may have a better answer than me but I would say at minimum you should give yourself 2 hours. The roads are winding and you won't be able (or shouldn't go very fast). There are several overlooks and places to hike throughout so that's just a minimum in my opinion.
Yes depends on which dwelling you choose. We went with a group led by a Ranger. Went into the biggest dwelling. Was able to walk around. Have to climb 5 different ladders.
There are drives that you can go on in which you can see a lot of the cliff dwellings from across the canyon, so you would be able to see them from a far. That is still pretty awesome!
The trail to the fire tower is a short walk. You can see everything from there.
There isn't one specific keystone species in Mesa Verde National Park. It is diversified with plants, animals that migrate. And most of all its terrestrial ecology, having the Ancestral Pueblo people that lived there. I'm not sure if I have answered your question. But I hope it helped somewhat. Having visited the park I can tell you this, it is amazing. You wonder how they did it, and survived. Have fun.
On the VA disability- I think you need to preorder the " America the beautiful" pass with your VA documents. Once in that pass will let you in, but i dont think they will let you in for free with out it - unless you are active military. ( this said i did see them waive someone through with a Base sticker in their windsheild - so maybe if you have that ? )
The road is not as bad as it looks on the map. It was actually way better than I expected. Nice drive.
We went there in end of September. We went there only for a day trip. Weather was nice. Not too hot.
Entrance fee is $15 per car. The cliff dwelling tour is $25 a person but pretty cool and interesting.
It's beautiful year round. I would imagine weather could impact the tours so check with the park if you are planning a visit.
Yes it's closed
I dont know. May have to call park or visitor center in durango. I would think to be in park, museum and various buildings would be ok. Not sure about dwellings. So many of the dwellings you have to climb up and down ladders to access anyway, that probably would work with assist animal.
The nearest airports are Durango (DRO) 1.5 hours drive time, and Albuquerque (ABQ) about 4 hours.
If you want to enter the dwellings, you do have to take a tour. I had my dog with me and could not do the tours and I was still blown away by what you can see on self guided driving tour. I got out quickly at a few places to view the Cliff house and others. Beautiful scenery! I loved it.
No problem last week but you can the Visitor Center, and they can tell you exact.
The tunnel is over 13ft as I recall from our visit last week. There is also a parking lot prior to entering the gate where some folks staged their RVs and just took their tow vehicles. Not sure if that is an option for you or not. You can call the visitor center as well to see what your options are. +19705294465
A 4 wheeler is recommended if you go to Monahans Sand Dunes... That would be fun
2 full days will give you enough time unless you have small kids. Doing the tours is inexpensive but you must have a reservation cuz those sell out. Reservations available at the park visitor center and the Cortez visitor center. The park visitor center opens at 8 am so reserving the day before is a good idea unless you want the afternoon time slot. The first time to Mesa Verde we spent two full days. This year we saw our favorite spots in one full day.
Go to the Park Center early in the morning and get a ticket for the next available tour. I went when they opened and got a $5 tour at 10am the same morning. Only Balcony House was open. Cliff was closed for renovation and the other was closed indefinitely for stabelization.
Tickets are available two days in advance but only in person. Visit the Mesa Verde NP website. It is clearly stated how to purchase tickets for ranger-led tours. These are purchased at the Visitor Center inside the entrance into the park.
They have alot of Vistas for really good pictures & a few telescopes to see up close , it is alot of driving at slower speeds but well worth it , adequate rest rooms & the visitor center & museum close kind of early
You need to take the mesa loop road to see all the dwellings. I think in all its about 5 or 6 miles around. There are several stops depending on what you want to see. From the parking lot its about 2 miles to the first stop.
I think the landscape was much the same as it is today
Beautifulest is not a word for starters. Sounds like an opinion question so there's no wrong answer.
They had 583,527 in 2016 and it grows by about 40,000 per year.
Approximately 21 miles, as Morefield Campground is 4 miles from the park entrance, Far View is another 11 miles, with the Chapin Mesa Museum an additional 6 miles.
In the 1190s the Pueblo people began moving to cliff dwellings after having lived on the Mesa tops for 600 years. By 1270 they began migrating away and by 1300 they were gone.
In the Morefield campground, there is a small shop with basic items, but if you need more than one grocery store, you will have to go to Cortez, about 10 miles from the park entrance.
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