Established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Mesa Verde National Park encompasses over 52,000 acres near the Four Corners region. Designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site, it preserves more than 600 cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo people.

The first people settled in Mesa Verde in AD 550. Their homes were “pit houses“, sunken rooms with pole walls and roofs covered with adobe and located on the mesa. By AD 1,000 the occupants of Mesa Verde had advanced to stone masonry.

Around AD 1,100 the Puebloan people started to build homes in naturally formed alcoves in the cliffs of the canyons. These locations were difficult to reach and required the occupants to literally climb down the face of the cliff to reach the homes. Most of the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde are not accessible to visitors.

Two of the cliff dwellings, Spruce Tree House and the Balcony House, are situated so that visitors can easily approach within a three to four hundred yards.

Balcony House is the only cliff dwelling that can be visited and requires a Ranger-guided tour. Visitors to Balcony house must descend a 100 foot staircase into the canyon; climb a 32 foot ladder; crawl through a 12 foot, 18 inches wide tunnel and climb up an additional 60 feet on ladders and stone steps.

Rather submit our bodies to all that effort, we chose to use a telephoto lens to get better views of Balcony House 😉 While these photos make Balcony House look small, it contains 38 rooms and may have been occupied by as many as 30 people. This is considered a medium sized dwelling. Some cliff dwellings have more than 100 rooms.

By 1285, the occupants had abandoned the area due to severe and prolonged drought and they moved south to locations in Arizona and New Mexico, leaving their masterfully constructed cliff dwellings. Fortunately, the remote location of the cliff dwellings and dry conditions of the area helped preserve these unique dwellings so we can appreciate them today.

There are about a dozen hiking trails in the park. Some have significant elevation changes (400-700 feet) that make them a bit strenuous but provide great views of the park. We had time to hike Point Lookout and the Spruce Canyon Trails. The photos below are from the top of the Point Lookout Trail which provides views of the San Juan and La Plata Mountains and the Mancos and Montezuma Valleys.

Most visitor centers in the national parks are not remarkable. The Mesa Verde Visitor Center however is exceptional. Constructed in 2013, it houses the functions of a typical visitor center along with a 16,300 square foot Curatorial Center that can house over 3 million artifacts. The building earned a Platinum LEED™ Certification, and has renewable energy systems that are capable of offsetting 95% of the building’s energy requirements. We were quite impressed! The artwork there is also very special.

We strongly recommend you visit Mesa Verde for a glimpse into how the Ancestral Pueblo people lived, and to experience the rich cultural heritage protected in this sacred place. If you plan to visit, allow a minimum of 2 days so that you can do a few hikes and drive the scenic road that brings you to views of the cliff dwellings. Go early in the season because the afternoon temperatures will get quite warm. Also remember that the sun is strong in the desert. Air temperatures were in the low 70s while we were there but the sun made it feel as if it was in the high 80’s. If you cannot visit in person, the National Park Service website links to some terrific online resources (podcasts and videos) that will provide insights into this very special and sacred place.

We stayed at Mesa Verde RV Resort on highway 160 about 10 minutes from the entrance to the park. This RV Park has terrific showers and a laundry in addition to a pool and hot tube. Full hookups are available and there is a dump station. Sights were close but the occupants were quiet. We rated the RV Park a 9 on our 1-10 scale. The RV Park would have rated a 10 had the Wifi service worked.

Thanks for stopping by. We are off to Arches and Canyonland National Parks next week.