October 22-30, 2022

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK

Mesa Verde, CO

“Mesa Verde National Park is in southwest Colorado. It's known for its well-preserved Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings, notably the huge Cliff Palace. The Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum has exhibits on the ancient Native American culture. Mesa Top Loop Road winds past archaeological sites and overlooks, including Sun Point Overlook with panoramic canyon views. Petroglyph Point Trail has several rock carvings.” ― Google

As an elementary student we learned about the ancestral Pueblo people who farmed on top of the mesas in the southwest United States.  We were told they built dwellings into the cliffs under the mesas.  For some reason I was always fascinated by the cliff dwellings and have wanted to visit them for years.  In researching places to see in Colorado I came across Mesa Verde National Park and knew I had to put it on this trip’s itinerary.  I am so glad I did.

The park had everything I was looking for, and more.  The twenty-mile drive from the entrance gate to the dwelling sites winds up and down through some beautiful scenery.  There are four pull-offs on the way to the dwellings with some amazing views, including the Park Point Overlook, the highest point in the park at 8572 ft, where you get 360° views of the valleys and peaks surrounding the park.

Once you get to the dwellings area at the top of Chapin Mesa, you can see Cliff Palace from a short trail above the village.  This is the iconic dwelling, pictures of which are used whenever you are told of Mesa Verde or cliff dwellings.  Other easily viewed dwellings include Windows House, Hemenway House, and Spruce Tree House.  To see Balcony House, one must take the Soda Canyon Overlook Trail (1.2 miles round-trip).  The trail is a relatively easy one and offers some great views of Balcony House and Soda Canyon.  The remains of some above ground dwellings can be seen at the Far View Sites. 

What fascinates me most is these are man-made structures built over 900 years ago.  Thinking about the tools the people had available along with the engineering feats they overcame is mind-boggling.

Visiting in late October there are restrictions on what one can see and do.  Most cliff dwellings can only be accessed on a ticketed tour.  The tours only run from May 1 through mid-October (they ended on the 22nd this year).  The tours are very popular and must be purchased in advance.  Wetherill Mesa Road, which takes one to some other cliff dwellings, is only open May through September (though now that I’ve done some research, I couldn’t have taken it anyway as my truck is too large).  Also, self-guided tours of Spruce Tree House have been suspended since 2015 for safety reasons.  The park is trying to make the fortify the structure so visitors can start touring it again.  A couple other frustrations were the closure of Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum for remodeling and the road construction which closed the Mesa Top Loop, a highly recommended drive in the park.  I guess I will have to come back sometime, at a different time of the year.

As stated earlier, Mesa Verde National Park did not disappoint.  For me, it is right up there with Glacier and Yellowstone.