🛖 Cliff Palace: The largest cliff dwelling in North America once housed 100 people, and its remains stand proudly as one of the highlights of Mesa Verde National Park. This is one of the more popular and easier cliff dwelling tours, and should be on the top of every visitor’s to-do list.
🛖 Balcony House: One of the more adventurous tours in the park takes visitors through narrow passages used by the Ancestral Puebloan people that once lived in the park. As stated by the NPS, this tour is “not for the faint-of-heart” but is well worth it for those up for the challenge.
🛖 Long House: Reaching this tour can be tricky, as it requires the navigation of an old fire road (so, no RVs or campers larger than 25 feet). This is a strenuous tour that takes you to a large cliff dwelling off the beaten path.
🛖 Square Tower House: This strenuous tour takes visitors to the tallest structure in the park, and requires the navigation of some steep drop-offs and switchbacks. By all accounts, however, this tour is a fun time.

🥾 Step House (0.9 miles, 164 feet elev. gain): This short trail takes you to one of the only cliff dwellings in the park that is accessible without a tour ticket.
🥾 Petroglyph Point (2.4 miles, 328 feet elev. gain): This hike provides the most bang for your buck of any of the trails in Mesa Verde National Park. The trail begins with an up-close look of Spruce Tree House (which you can explore when it’s open), then continues through a rocky and rugged path that leads to a wall filled with petroglyphs. From here, the trail summits the mesa and continues back to the trailhead.
🥾 Soda Canyon Overlook (1.2 miles, 59 feet elev. gain): The highlight of this hike is a series of three overlooks above Soda Canyon. From here, you can see Balcony House in addition to a number of smaller cliff dwellings that you can spot with a pair of binoculars.
🥾 Far View Sites (0.8 miles, 82 feet elev. gain): Less of a “hike” and more of a leisurely stroll, this trail navigates a collection of ancestral Puebloan structures that you can see up close.
🥾 Point Lookout (2.1 miles, 531 feet elev. gain): Departing from Mesa Verde’s Morefield Campground, this trail leads to the top of a small mountain that overlooks the entrance of the national park. At the top, a fantastic view awaits. You can see endless mountain ranges in almost every direction, along with the towns and communities outside the park.
🥾 Knife Edge (2.0 miles, 154 feet elev. gain): This hike – which also leaves from Morefield Campground –  utilizes an historic roadway. Great views of the national park and its surroundings can be found along this popular trail.

🏞️ Ute Tribal Mountain Park: This park – managed by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe – protects a collection of Ancestral Puebloan houses, including cliff dwellings. The tribe offers guided tours to many locations throughout the park.
🏞️ Yucca House National Monument: This nearby national monument preserves an Ancestral Puebloan village. It’s a pretty area, but it can be tricky to reach, requiring navigation of private roads.
⛰️ Climb a 14er: If you’re a peak-bagger, you’ve come to the right part of the country. The San Juan Mountains are near Mesa Verde National Park to the northeast, including 14ers like Mount Wilson, Uncompahgre Peak, and El Diente Peak. Visit 14ers.com to learn more about climbing these mountains.
🏞️ Canyon de Chelly National Monument: Like Mesa Verde, Canyon de Chelly houses a collection of cliff dwellings and does so in a very scenic location. Ranger-led and Navajo-led tours are available in the park: unguided hikes are limited.
🏞️ Arches National Park: This famous national park is a little more than 2 hours north of Mesa Verde. The park contains the largest concentration of natural arches in the world, including staples such as Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, and Double Arch.
🏞️ Canyonlands National Park: Canyonlands is the more wild, less visited neighbor of Arches. The park offers solitude and escape from the crowds on its many rugged trails and backcountry hiking opportunities.
🏜️ Monument Valley: One of the most recognizable locations in cinema history sits only 3 hours from Mesa Verde. If you’ve never been, it’s definitely worth the visit.
🏞️ Great Sand Dunes National Park: This bizarre-looking national park is an incredible place to stop if you’re in the area. The park protects a massive dunefield surrounded by mountains, offering a unique set of activities to explore.

📅 When to Visit: While it may sound tempting to visit Mesa Verde in the off-season to avoid crowds, cliff dwelling tours are not offered during this time. Tours are offered from May through October, so I’d recommend visiting during these months. Try to avoid the months of June, July, and August, as this is when the park is most crowded.
⌚ How Long to Visit: One day is plenty of time to see the highlights of Mesa Verde, but budget two days if you want to see a bit more and enjoy the park’s beautiful night sky.
🚗 How to Visit: Mesa Verde is easy to reach by car, but is pretty far from most major cities.  The park is 4 hours from Albuquerque and nearly 7 hours from both Denver and Phoenix.
🛏️ Where to Stay: Far View Lodge and Morefield Campground are the two places to stay inside Mesa Verde National Park. Outside the park, the nearby town of Cortez, CO offers a plethora of lodging opportunities.
🧳 What to Bring: Mesa Verde offers enough amenities to forgive a lack of preparedness. At a minimum, bring sturdy hiking boots, a water container, and sun protection.

✅ DO book cliff dwelling tours in advance at Mesa Verde, since they often sell out in advance.
✅ DO plan to visit other national parks and natural wonders in the area to make the most of your visit in the area.
❌ DON’T underestimate the remoteness of Mesa Verde: it’s far from most major cities.
❌ DON’T trespass on cliff dwellings that are closed to the public. You’ll face some major fines and legal repercussions if you attempt to do this.