Mesa Verde National Park

Understand

History

The name of the park is Spanish for "green table", referring to the vegetation found at the tops of the plateaus in this area; while members of a Spanish expedition were the first Europeans to visit the area, they never got close enough to see the ruins. Instead, the first known "rediscoverers" of the ruins were members of the Ute tribe, who wintered in the area (but not in the ruins themselves as they believed them to be sacred) in the late 1870s.

Ancient history While most of what exists today was built by the Ancestral Puebloans ("Anasazi" in older texts), the site has evidence of being inhabited as far back as c. 9500 BCE, when nomadic hunter-gatherers made camps in the canyons. The earliest rock structures and rock art date to the Archaic period (6000 BCE to 1000 BCE), when people began to build (semi)permanent structures in the cliffs. After the Archaic period came the Basketmaker culture (c. 1000 BCE to 750 CE), when corn and beans were introduced to the region and, as you could guess, basket weaving became common. Pithouses (houses dug into the earth) were the main form of domicile at this time. The Ancestral Puebloans chose Mesa Verde as their settlement 1,400 years ago, around the year 750 CE. As the population grew, the Ancestral Puebloans moved from pithouses to pole-and-adobe houses built above ground. The pithouses became kivas (ceremonial rooms) as the mesa top villages became larger and more complex. Stone masonry replaced the poles and mud of earlier houses, as villages rose two or three stories high, became more compact, and had many rooms. During this time, pottery replaced baskets as a more desired craft. Around 1200 CE, the Ancestral Puebloans began to move under overhangs found in the cliffs of the canyons. Here, they built cities with multi-storied structures that housed 100-400 people. However, the Ancestral Puebloans only used these incredible constructions for less than 100 years. By 1300 CE, they had left the area, most like

Getting there

By car Driving is just about the only way to get to Mesa Verde. The entrance to the park is 9 miles east of Cortez and 35 miles west of Durango on US Highway 160 (formerly US Highway 666). The road into the park is steep, narrow, and winding, so make sure your car is in good shape, that it has plenty of gas, and that its brakes are in proper working order. A gas station in the park is located at the Morefield Campground, which is still several miles from the top.

By plane Cortez has a small airport with daily flights to Denver on Great Lakes Airlines. Durango has a larger airport with daily flights to Denver on United Express, and to Dallas/Fort Worth and Phoenix on American Eagle. Rental car outlets are available at both airports.

Getting around

There are four main areas of the park: Morefield Campground is just inside the park, 4 miles from the entrance. Another 11 miles in is Far View, where you can drive another 6 miles to Chapin Mesa or turn right and drive 12 miles to get to Wetherill Mesa. For the most part you will need private transportation in order to move throughout the park. The only public transit available is on Wetherill Mesa, where a tram services the area that is otherwise inaccessible to automobiles. The roads are steep, narrow, and winding, so make sure your car is in good shape and has plenty of gas. You can get gasoline at the Morefield Campground store. Watch out for rocks that may have fallen on to the road and take it slow. Be courteous to other drivers and stick to your side of the road. Keep in mind that the Park Rangers enforce safe driving on this road and will not hesitate to hand out tickets for unsafe driving. Trailers and towed vehicles are not permitted beyond Morefield Campground. If you're not camping, you can park these vehicles in the parking lot located near the entrance station. The road to Wetherill Mesa (open Memorial Day to Labor Day) has sharp curves and steep grades, so vehicles on this road are restricted to less than 8,000 pounds and 25-feet in length.

See

Travelers should be aware that access to the various cliff houses involves navigating (sometimes several) wooden ladders, and that wheelchair access may be limited or nonexistent. That being said, not everything in the park is below the cliffs. The park has many scenic vistas where you can observe the natural beauty of Mesa Verde. Just off the main park road is 1 Montezuma Valley Overlook, 2 Park Point Overlook, and 3 Geologic Overlook. There are also good views from the Far View area, the Chapin Mesa Museum viewing deck, and the two loop roads on Chapin Mesa.

Chapin Mesa sights Historic District (21 miles from the park entrance). 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. 4 Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum (From the park entrance, drive 20 miles (32.2 km) to the all-way stop on Chapin Mesa. Turn right. Drive about 0.7 miles (1.13 km) to the museum parking lot.). April–October 8AM–6:30PM, October–April 8AM–5PM. 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. (updated Jun 2020) 5 Spruce Tree House. 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 c

Do

Ranger guided tours Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Long House are some of Mesa Verde's greatest and most outstanding cliff dwellings. Guided tours are the only way to get up-close with them. Tickets cost $8 per person, per tour, and must be purchased online at recreation.gov or calling 877-444-6777. Due to the popularity of the Cliff Palace and Balcony House tours, visitors may be limited to only one of these two tours per day in summer (Long House can be visited on the same day, however). Try to arrive early for ranger-guided tours as they tend to fill up quickly, particularly in summer. By mid-morning you should be prepared for at least an hour long wait for a place in a tour group. Be forewarned that each tour does involve traversing uneven stairways and tall wooden ladders. While the overall distance you travel on the hiking tour isn’t very far, the nature of the trail, high altitude, and extreme temperatures all combine to make the hike a little grueling