Mesa Verde National Park

One of the most unique parks in the National Park Service System, Mesa Verde National Park, is a gem. Located in the southeast corner of Colorado near the small town of Cortez you will find the must see historical ruins of the ancient (“Anasazi”) people. Not like most of the other parks in the park system Mesa Verde exists because of the historical ruins of people instead of the natural wonders of the landscape. A visit here is an eye opening adventure into how native peoples lived hundreds of years ago. Making a trip here takes a bit of planning for most people since it isn’t on a major crossroads but it is certainly worth the effort.  Also this it is a great gateway stop to the four corners area of the Southwestern United States if you are on an epic road trip.

HISTORY

On June 29, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt established Mesa Verde National Park to “preserve the works of man,” the first national park of its kind.  The park occupies 52,485 acres near the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. With more than 4,300 sites, including 600 cliff dwellings, it is the largest archaeological preserve in the U.S. Mesa Verde (Spanish for “green table”) is best known for structures such as Cliff Palace, thought to be the largest cliff dwelling in North America.

The Anasazi built the mesa’s first pueblos sometime after 650 A.D., and by the end of the 12th century, they began to construct the massive cliff dwellings for which the park is best known. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south to locations in Arizona and New Mexico

A visit to the park could easily take up several days if not a week if you wish to do some of the major hikes in the area.  Here is what can be done in a one day visit to the park.  I suggest you do it in this order:

VISITOR AND RESEARCH CENTER

Mesa Verde National Park opened its new Visitor and Research Center in mid-December, 2012. It is located at the park entrance and is the park’s primary facility for orienting visitors to the park and surrounding area. It also houses a research and storage facility for the park’s archives and a museum collection of over three million objects.

Be sure to make the Mesa Verde Visitor Center your first stop if you wish to visit Cliff Palace, Balcony House, or Long House.  If you plan to visit any of these three cliff dwellings, you must purchase tickets here first.  Be aware that you not only need to pay an entrance fee to get into the park or have a park pass but you also need to purchase tickets to visit some of the sites.  The tickets sell out fast on weekends and holidays so get here early in the morning and plan to wait in a long line to get your tickets.  THEY DO NOT SELL THE TICKETS FURTHER INTO THE PARK SO BUY BEFORE YOU ENTER THE PARK.

PARK POINT

On your way into or out of the park, look for the sign to Park Point; this is the highest elevation point in the park. From here, you’ll find an awesome 360-degree view of not only the Montezuma Valley, but Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado as well. This is actually an active fire look-out station that is usually manned and very interesting to see what they are doing during fire season.  On a clear day you can see 100+ miles.  If you are lucky you will be able to take in the view on clear day and watch as thunder storms come rolling in on the valley.

CLIFF PALACE

Since its re-discovery in 1888 the Cliff Palace has been the focus of early exploration, commercial exploitation, archeological investigations, and generations of visitors to Mesa Verde National Park. The big structure has also seen the development of innovative preservation strategies designed to halt and stabilize the continuing effects of natural and cultural agents of deterioration. The centerpiece of Mesa Verde National Park, it remains one of the best examples of a late prehistoric cliff dwelling in the American Southwest.

Cliff Palace challenges visitors to imagine what life was like over seven hundred years ago. Constructed of stone masonry, wood, and earth covered with plaster painted in a variety of colors; the structures that compose Cliff Palace reflect traces of everyday events: the mundane chores of food preparation and storage, private and public spaces, concern for defensive protection, village organization, and solemn ritual. These same buildings and spaces also reveal intentional design, subtle details of craftsmanship, and reliance upon construction materials and methods (structural systems) in use for hundreds of years. Collectively, these two views of Cliff Palace provide a way of understanding the past and the challenges we face at present to preserve this ancient place.

The preservation of Cliff Palace inspires visitors to imagine what life was like over seven hundred years ago. But the task of preserving this nearly eight century old site has its challenges as well as its rewards.

You can only view it via a guided tour.  The park’s largest cliff dwelling is comprised of more than 150 individual rooms and more than 20 kivas (rooms for religious rituals).  Tour tickets can be purchased for the one-hour tour with a National Park Service ranger guide.

Where to stay:

MOREFIELD CAMPGROUND

Best place to get the full park experience camping is at Morefield Campground.  In a wooded canyon and share the landscape with deer, wild turkeys and other wildlife. It is 4 miles inside Mesa Verde National Park. With 267 sites, there’s always plenty of space! The campground rarely fills. Each site has a table, bench, and grill. Camping is open to tents, trailers and RVs, including 15 full hookup RV sites that require reservations. Don’t miss the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast offered during the summer at Morefield’s Village’s Knife’s Edge Café.  There’s also a gas station, RV dumping station, coin-operated laundry, complimentary showers, a gift shop and grocery store. Enjoy an evening program in the campground amphitheater.

OUTSIDE THE PARK

There are a number of commercial campgrounds just outside the entrance to the park.  You will pay a steep price to stay in them so bring your wallet.  Also there are a couple of campgrounds in Cortez, CO nearby that offer the best of the commercial campground experience.

BOONDOCKING

Very near the entrance to the Mesa Verde National Park is a dirt road, built as an emergency wildfire exit from a nearby development.  Since road in is dirt and 2 miles from a paved road it can get muddy. BLM land at Mesa Verde National Park is open Weather Permitting. There are 6-15 campsites at this location and the maximum RV length is 25 feet.

Also Walmart in Cortez, Co nearby allows overnight stays – if you want the vast pavement experience at the right price.

IF YOU GO:

• Be sure to check the park website to see what is currently open. It changes depending on the season.
• Some of the tours require climbing ladders and some hiking. At the Visitors Center where you buy your tickets they have an actual ladder and crawl space so you can see if you can do it.
• Food service at the sites is lacking in quality – Pack a lunch!
• Bring lots of water on hot days.
• It takes 30 minutes to an hour to get from the visitors center to the main attractions of the park.