Mesa Verde National Park is located in Montezuma County, CO near four corners. It is over 52,000 acres and host more than a half million visitors annually. The park has more than 5000 dwelling sites and 600 of them are cliff dwellings. The amazing people who lived here varied over the years. They were hunters, farmers, and craftsman. In addition, many were superior basket makers, allowing the annual harvest to be easily stored. The visitors center at the entrance to Mesa Verde provides an enormous amount of information about the culture and lifestyles of these people.
Additionally, the Chaplin Mesa Archeological Museum located in the heart of the park provides even more information. During our visit, the Wetherill Mesa side of the parkway was closed because of construction therefore we only visited the Eastern side of the park. This piece will focus on our adventures. Morefield campground is the only campground located in the park. It is conveniently located before the parks Morefield- Prater tunnel and close to the parks entrance. The campground has many services, including laundry and shower facilities, as well as cafe, grocery store and gift shop.
The Morefield-Prater Tunnel (20.5″ height restriction). Trailers and towed vehicles and not permitted beyond the campground.
Balcony House
To visit Balcony House you must schedule a ranger guided tour. Tickets are available on recreation.gov. The Balcony House is located along the Cliff Palace loop road. If you are unfamiliar with the park please take note, when scheduling a tour, that the drive from the park entrance to Balcony house requires at least an hour. We scheduled our tours the first day we arrived at the park, each requires a separate fee.
The website describes the Balcony house tour as adventurous. It requires climbing through a twelve foot long tunnel on your hands and knees, as well as a 32-foot climb up a traditionally built wooden ladder over exposed cliffs. This dwelling was first discovered by prospectors in 1884.
The balcony house has 40 rooms, two of which are Kivas. Kivas are round underground ceremonial rooms. They also functioned as the central gathering point in Pueblo communities. Archeologists believe Balcony house was home to about thirty people. These people farmed the land at the top of the mesas, primarily growing three staple crops of corn, beans, and squash. Fertile soils were naturally deposited on the mesas because of their mild slope and prevailing wind direction.
Active Exploration
We arrived for our Balcony House tour about fifteen minutes early to ensure we could find a parking spot. We took a few amazing pictures, read some information boards and found our group. The tours were staggered, which allowed ample time for ranger talks and questions. We quickly realized this would not be the typical tour.
While we waited our turn to descend into the Balcony House our ranger Terry told us the story of events which had happened the previous day. A woman had descended into the Balcony House and while visiting, was over come with a panic attack, because of the steepness and exposure. The remaining tours were canceled for the day and a rescue team was sent in to rescue her. It took almost six hours and many people. Ranger Terry also stated that this is not an unusual event.
The tunnel and ladders were easy for us to navigate, however if you are claustrophobic or afraid of heights they may prove very challenging. They were secure and sturdy, with additional safety fencing in place. But still required physical ability and concentration to safely navigate. My fingers tingle a little now looking at the pictures!
If you are adventurous and love an up close adventure. I definitely recommend the Balcony House Tour!
Cliff Palace
Cliff Palace is the largest dwelling in the park, and a very different tour. It also requires a reservation and fee. There are 150 rooms and 23 kivas, and housed about 100 people. Our tour of Cliff Palace began at a marvelous viewing area into Cliff canyon, then after descending many stairs we entered the enormous Cliff Palace. The size and amount of rooms was awe inspiring. Access is limited to the path along the front of the cave, however the immensity of the place and what life might have been like here is palpable.
Cliff Palace was discovered in 1888, by local ranchers looking for lost cows. The discovery led to looting and removing of artifacts. Theodore Roosevelt designated Mesa Verde as a National Park as well as signed a law making it illegal to remove archaeological artifacts from federal lands. It is called the Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities. This law set the stage for preserving the histories and cultures of these people.
Lots of information and history is provided throughout the tour. There is no climbing in Cliff house, but we were up close to many of the rooms. When the tour was complete, it was time to climb out of Cliff House. The climb was easier than climbing out of Balcony House, but it was still a climb up.
The Trails
There are several trails on the east side of the park. We hiked most of them and they were amazing! If you have never seen desert plants, or are a desert native, these trails will awe you! Our first trail was the Point Lookout Trail. The trail is just over two miles and gains a little more than five hundred feet of elevation. The trail climbs a few switchbacks and then levels out. What we realized is Point Lookout is the prominent feature we were seeing from our campsite. Point Lookout is 8427′ of elevation, don’t be surprised if the relatively short, easy climb feels more difficult than you expect.
The junipers were amazing! But what stole the show, were the variety of trees in various stages of decay and post fire stages. They were simply incredible. We learned after visiting the museum that we were hiking in a pygmy forest, which I had never heard of. A pygmy forest is a rare, typically high elevation forest with small height trees and smaller woodland animals in arid climates.
Knife Edge Trail
The knife edge trail follows the course of the original park entrance road. The trail provides amazing views of the Montezuma Valley. Because the road was so difficult to maintain it became unsafe for vehicles. When the Morefield-Prater Tunnel was complete in 1957 the road was abandoned and then later converted to a hiking trail. The trail is a two mile round trip almost level route. We were fortunate to be surrounded by wildflowers on our hike.
Soda Canyon Trail is an easy trail, which provides views of Balcony house. The name of the trail comes from the white calcium carbonate deposits. The trail is 1.2 miles round trip and gains less than 100′ of elevation.
Farming Terrace Loop is another short hike, less than 1/2 mile with about 150′ of elevation gain. The trail is marvelous showing examples of dry farming techniques which were practiced here. Including, building check dams and terraces. These check dams helped save any rainfall, for later use by the ancient Pueblo peoples. Terraces slow down water’s descent allowing crops more time to absorb the valuable resource.
Park Point Trail is a short .2 mile trail to the highest point in Mesa Verde! At 8572′ the trail provides amazing views of four states on a clear day. The fire tower is staffed during parts of the year, and is an important resource in communication with regional fire crews.
Far View Sites is an easy three quarter mile trail. The Far View Community was one of the most densely populate areas in the mid- 1100’s. As many as 35 occupied villages, within a half-square-mile area with surrounding farm lands and gardens. Many buildings, and informative sign boards line the trail.
Horseback Riding
Our home during our stay in Mesa Verde was spent at Ancient Cedars Mesa Verde RV park. It’s located just outside of the National Park and is a well run and maintained RV park. An additional benefit to the park is that the neighboring property is a ranch, which offers horseback riding. We placed a call and easily arranged a sunset ride. We walked a few feet from our RV, met the gentleman who owned the horses and were introduced to our new equine friends.
Our ride was marvelous! Jess loves horses and has skills, me I try not to upset my horse or fall off! Our guide was wonderful as were our horses. When we reached the spot above he asked for my phone and snapped this photo. That is Point Lookout centered between us. We wandered local trails around the campground and the horse owners property. I highly recommend a horseback ride in Mesa Verde!
Biking
Biking around Mesa Verde is plentiful and amazing! Visiting this area was early in our full-time RV’ing journey. It was our first adventure using our bikes on real trails. Previously, our experience amounted to biking on urban paved trails and an occasional dirt road. We knew we were in for a treat, when we arrived in the parking area, simultaneously with another couple. They were so excited to be there, they had ditched work and driven from Albuquerque, NM to ride the trails. We asked them a couple questions about the trails and were on our way.
Our goal was to ride the easier trails, they recommended the pink section in Phil’s South Hippy Area. Even for rookies like us the trail was rideable and fun. However, we were paying too much attention to staying on our bikes and not enough on navigation! We’re not exactly sure where we rode, but we made it back to the car in one piece and completely exhausted! An amazing place!
Phil’s World
Phil’s World is located on Highway 160 across the street from the Montezuma County Fairgrounds. There are 27 miles of dedicated mountain bike trails and almost 60 miles of total trails. Trails from beginner to advanced, through junipers, sage brush and pinion pines, across slick rock, log jumps and ledges. With amazing views of the Mesa Verde, La Plata, and Sleeping UTE Mountains. Rules require all trails to be ridden clockwise. Do not ride when trails are soft. Check website for closures or events.
Aqueduct Trail System
The Aqueduct trail system was also just a few miles from our campground. There are almost 13 miles of trails, which were built in conjunction with the Marcos Trail Group and the BLM. The trail surfaces were perfect, they were flowing, fast, and fun even for our experience level. Short ups and downs allowed us to throughly enjoy ourselves! Check their website for information and directions. Trail Forks and the MTB project apps have information about trails at both locations. Additionally, there may be more trail riding in the area.
Breweries & Wineries
Mancos, Cortez, and Dolores are the three local communities surrounding Mesa Verde National Park. There is shopping, services, and of course breweries and wineries. After a long day of travel, we decided to drive into Cortez to enjoy some wine and a snack. We had seen good reviews about Yellow Car Country Wine and stopped in.
While we were enjoying our tasting we talked with some locals, and learned more about the area. That’s when our winery host informed us she was the head of the local Cortez Area Chamber of Commerce. We learned about many local activities, businesses and community history.
A few days later, we took her suggestion to try out the Dolores River Brewery and local farmer’s market. The beer was wonderful and the company even better! There are several other local breweries, we only had time for one. I’m sure they are as wonderful.
Canyon of the Ancients
We began our journey to the Canyon of the Ancients at the museum and visitors center. There are several sites which can be visited in the local area. Lowry Pueblo, a National Historic Landmark and a short drive from the visitors center, is the first we visited. There is an enormous Kiva and many rooms to view. The easy to follow path provides amazing access and many informative sign boards.
The information contained on the boards ranges from history, construction methods and what daily life looked like. We also visited Painted Hand Pueblo on our way to visit Hovenweep. There are many other sites to visit including, Sand Canyon Pueblo and Sand Canyon Trailhead.
As we drove from Lowry Pueblo to Hovenweep we were amazed by the wild horses we spotted along our path. Nothing like seeing wild horses!
Hovenweep National Monument
Hovenweep National Monument is located on the Colorado/ Utah border and is a separate National Monument from Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.
We hiked the Rim Loop Trail, it was a wonderful trail around the rim and through the canyon. It is a two mile loop, with about 150′ of elevation gain. The loop provides amazing viewing of the Stronghold House, Rimrock House, Tower Point, Square Tower and Hovenweep castle. A wooden beam in one of the castles towers dated to 1277 AD. Dogs are allowed on the Trail and we carried ours in their K-9 sport sacks.
Final Thoughts
Our journey to Mesa Verde took place in September of 2023. It was very early in our full-time RV journey. We were learning about our RV and our traveling style. Traveling, we learned is about more than people and places, it’s also about situations. Our plans had been to travel to four corners and then on to Page, Arizona.
Because, temperatures were going to be in the triple digits, traveling in that direction would be challenging. Then Jess accidentally dropped her phone smashing the glass. This chain of events changed our travels. We found the closest Apple Store was an Albuquerque, then we found a COE (Core of Engineers) park. We booked the campground which was not far from the Apple store, and were on our way.
Cochiti Campground was amazing. Apple fixed Jess’s i-phone. We rode bikes in nearby Santa Fe, enjoyed the campground and learned a lot. Our next stop was Oliver Lee State Park and the city of Alamogordo. We hiked in White Sands National Park and enjoyed craft brews in Cloudcroft, New Mexico.
This experience changed our expectations of travel. We learned how much we enjoyed the spontaneity of travel, and began to incorporate it into our lives. Instead of traveling to a specific destination, we learned how to find the things we enjoyed along a route of travel. This change in our thought process enhanced our travel and allowed us find our path.
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