Exploring Mesa Verde National Park: Best Tips + Activities

Mesa Verde National Park is located in southwestern Colorado, near Durango. President Theodore Roosevelt designated it as a national park in 1906, and in 1978, it was named Colorado’s first and only UNESCO World Heritage Site!

Mesa Verde, which means ‘green table’ in Spanish, is one of America’s national treasures, protecting some of the country’s most important archeological sites, like Cliff Palace and Balcony House. Exploring Mesa Verde National Park is a rewarding experience we highly recommend!

Podcast Episode Overview

We are exploring Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park in this episode of Exploring the National Parks. This unique national park is for anyone who loves history, especially the fascinating story of the people native to the Southwest!

Mesa Verde is a sacred homeland to 26 different Native American tribes, and it protects the heritage of these incredible people. It represents such an important part of our history as Americans, and we are so excited to dive into this truly special and sacred national park with you today!

In this episode, we discuss:

The amazing architecture you’ll see in this park
Some helpful reminders for the drive when visiting this park
What to skip while you’re in this park and what you can’t miss
The must-see sights on the Mesa Top Loop
What makes the Cliff Palace Loop the best part of the park
Our top favorite tour to take in Mesa Verde
Where to get the best tacos in Mesa Verde
Construction to watch out for
Why we love Long House
The gateway towns to check out near Mesa Verde

We hope you get the chance to visit Mesa Verde! It’s an incredible park with so much history. Plan to visit for a couple of days, and be sure to get your advanced reservations if you want to tour the cliff dwellings!

Are you ready to plan an amazing trip to Mesa Verde National Park? Read up on the 8 Things You Can’t Miss on Your First Trip to Mesa Verde!

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:

Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center to the Far View Area

Let’s begin exploring Mesa Verde National Park by following the main road from the north entrance.

Cortez, Colorado, is one option for nearby lodging just 10 minutes outside the park; however, the unique thing about Mesa Verde is that you have to drive up the mesa to see the highlights. I typically stay at the Far View Lodge in the park to be in the middle of the action.

One mistake many people make is not leaving early enough for their ranger-guided tour, which has to be booked in advance. It takes 1.5 hours to drive from Cortez to Cliff Palace on the other end of the main road, where most of the highlights are. Make sure you give yourself enough time to make it to your ranger-led tours so you can enjoy the scenic drive through the park!

As you enter the park from Cortez, you’ll pass by the Mesa Verde National Park Visitor and Research Center. As you follow the road, you’ll see Morefield Campground.

Heading toward the Far View Area and the Far View Lodge on Chapin Mesa Road, you’ll suddenly be on top of the mesa! The mesa is the hub of where the Ancestral Pueblo People lived, one of America’s oldest cultures.

Spruce Tree House

As you continue south in the park, there are three main loops: Spruce Tree House, Mesa Top Loop Road, and Cliff Palace.

Spruce Tree House and Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum are in the first loop. Spruce Tree House is a well-preserved cliff dwelling that, unfortunately, has unstable rocks above it. Although it is closed for ranger tours and self-guided tours for an indefinite period, you can still see it from a distance. The National Park Service is working on a solution!

The Petroglyph Point Trail starts from the Spruce Tree House area and is one of our favorite hiking trails.

We hiked this trail in the evening and enjoyed some of the best views in the park in golden sunset light.

Mesa Top Loop Road

The second of the three main loops in the park’s southern area is the Mesa Top Loop Road, which takes you back through the history of the people who lived and thrived at Mesa Verde.

The area’s archaeological sites include many dwellings and excavations. When the Ancestral Puebloans first moved onto the mesa, they built pit houses, which you can see among the archeological sites.

One of the coolest cliff dwellings, Square Tower House, is located here and offers ranger-guided tours.

The Sun Temple, also located along the Mesa Top Loop Road, is a great example of the stone structures they built on the mesa top.

Cliff Palace

Finally, in the third loop, you’ll find Cliff Palace and Balcony House.

Cliff Palace is the main reason most people visit Mesa Verde National Park and for a good reason! Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in the United States. It has 150 rooms you can explore on a cliff dwelling tour.

There is an overlook where you can take photos of Cliff Palace, but you need to take a ranger-guided tour to get closer. While we always appreciate our tour guide, this tour is packed with people and tends to be more listening than it is interactive.

As of the release of this episode, tour tickets have to be reserved two weeks in advance of your visit. These tickets sell out in minutes, especially during peak travel season in the summer. Visit recreation.gov to book your tickets the minute they are released. If you miss out, check back for any cancellations frequently!

On the other side of the loop, you’ll reach Balcony House, my favorite tour in Mesa Verde National Park!

The groups are smaller than Cliff Palace, and there are a bunch of ladders you get to climb up and down that feel like an adventure. It puts into perspective how the Ancestral Puebloans lived on these steep cliffs every single day. There are tunnels you have to crawl through to go between the rooms of Balcony House, which is the most unique experience in the entire park.

If you love Mesa Verde, check out Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, which is nearby and has even more incredible archeological sites. And if you love Chaco Canyon, keep exploring this part of the American Southwest because there are many more Ancestral Puebloan sites to see.

Southwest Colorado is just the start of your adventure!

Wetherill Mesa Road

Head back north toward the Far View Area again. The road branches off toward the Far View Lodge, where you can find the Metate Room Restaurant and Far View Terrace. We enjoy the Navajo tacos and short rib grilled cheese you can find in this restaurants!

From the Far View Lodge, drive toward the Wetherill Mesa Road. This road opens from May through September and is only open to vehicles under 25 feet long. The road is closed in 2024 but will open again next year in 2025.

The Long House tour lasts three hours because you have to hike to see it, unlike the Cliff Palace tour, which lasts about 45 minutes. We love the Long House tour and highly recommend you book tickets!

If you don’t have tickets to see Long House, we recommend driving to the end of Wetherill Mesa Road only if you’re spending extra days in Mesa Verde. Most of what you can see along Wetherill Mesa Road is similar to the rest of the park.

Visiting Durango and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Durango, Colorado, is about 1-1.5 hours away from Mesa Verde and a great place to stay if you want to extend your trip in the southwest corner of Colorado.

In Durango, you can ride the train and stop at the Diamond Bell Saloon, where you can hear live saloon music. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park lies to the north across the Million Dollar Highway, a must-drive road at least once in your lifetime! On your way, stop in Silverton for good food and mining history.

5 Things You Can’t Miss on Your First Visit to Black Canyon of the Gunnison is the perfect guide to start planning your trip!

Don’t forget to complete your task for this week! Head over to the Dirt in My Shoes Facebook or Instagram page and check out our photo of the Balcony House ladder. Would you climb it?! Leave a comment and let us know.

Links mentioned in this podcast episode:

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