Mesa Verde
Northwest |
Front Range |
Northeast |
Denver Area |
Southwest |
South Central |
Southeast |
Mesa Verde, Spanish for green table, offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300. Today, the park protects over 4,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States.
Ancestral Puebloans made Mesa Verde their home from about A.D. 550 to 1300. For more than 700 years they and their descendants lived and flourished here.
Today, Mesa Verde National Park preserves a spectacular reminder of this ancient culture. The park contains over 4,000 known archeological sites including cliff dwellings and the mesa top sites of pithouses, pueblos, masonry towers, and farming structures.
Want to visit a Mesa Verde cliff dwelling? To go to Cliff Palace, Balcony House, or Long House, you will first need to purchase a tour ticket. Ranger-guided tours are offered seasonally, and provide you with the opportunity to hike into and experience these Ancestral Puebloan sites. Tour tickets can ONLY be purchased in person at the Far View Visitor Center. (From Oct. 18 to Nov. 7, tickets are available at the Chapin Museum.)
Cliff Dwellings
Balcony House, Ranger Guided Only, Fee Required, Open 8:00 a.m. to sunset
Cliff Palace, Ranger Guided Only, Fee Required, Open 8:00 a.m. to sunset
Long House on Wetherill Mesa, Ranger Guided Only, Fee Required, only open between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day. Long House is located on Wetherill Mesa in the western portion of Mesa Verde National Park.
Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling (Cliff Palace and Long House are larger) near the Museum, Self-Guided, Spring to Fall and Ranger-Guided in the Winter, No Fee Required
Step House on Wetherill Mesa, Self-Guided, No Fee Required
