Picturesque Mesa Verde (Spanish for "green table"), located in southwestern Colorado's high plateau country, was the first national park set aside to preserve the works of people. The park is comprised of the cliffside dwellings of the Anasazi people who vanished hundreds of years ago, leaving only these homes as clues to their culture.

When the Anasazi first settled this land, they lived in pit-house villages on top of the mesa. In 1200 A.D., about 700 years after settling here, they moved into the cliff-side dwellings that have made Mesa Verde famous. Today, scientists search the park's nearly 600 cliff dwellings for clues to the mysteries of the Anasazi people, including why they abandoned the dwellings after only 100 years of living in them. For visitors, the park offers a wonderful opportunity to climb and crawl through several of the dwellings and to learn about Anasazi society from the park rangers' informative narratives.

Visitors can explore several mesa-top village ruins as well as five cliff dwellings. The ruins are generally flat and easy to explore. However, the cliff dwellings are a bit more strenuous to visit. They are best investigated with young kids you can backpack, or with kids ages five and up who don't mind the short walks in and out of the canyon or the ladders you climb in the dwellings.

On Chapin Mesa, the busiest area of the park, rangers lead scheduled, guided tours through Balcony House and Cliff Palace. Both of these dwelling tours require tickets ($2.50 per person), which can be purchased at the Far View Visitor Center. (Get to the visitor center by 8 A.M. if you want a good choice of tour times.) During the summer, however, you have to choose between buying a ticket for Balcony House or Cliff Palace. Unfortunately, there are more visitors than spots on the tour (if it is a really slow day, you can try your luck and ask for both tickets). Cliff Palace, once the home of at least 200 residents, is the largest of the cliff dwellings. It contained 217 rooms and 23 kivas (underground Indian ceremonial rooms). On Chapin Mesa, you can also take a self-guided walk through Spruce Tree House.

Off the beaten path, on the eastern side of the park, is Wetherill Mesa. Here you can explore Step House on your own or take an interpretive tour of Long House (tickets for $2.50 per person are also required here and can be purchased at the visitor center), which is particularly beautiful because of the freshwater springs behind the house.

Although the dwellings are the center of attention during the summer, the park also has five hiking trails--three from the campground and two near Chapin Mesa--that kids may appreciate after a tiring morning exploring these sandstone "playhouses." The 2.3-mile round-trip Point Lookout Trail is particularly popular at sunset. From Morefield Campground, you'll head uphill to Point Lookout, where you'll have panoramic views of the Montezuma and Mancos valleys. Spruce Canyon Trail, near the Chapin Mesa Museum, is an easy 2.1-mile round-trip walk along the bottom of Spruce Canyon that ends at a picnic site. Before heading out on your walk, you'll need to sign the register at the Chief Ranger's office (next to the museum).

At the end of the day, if you choose to stay in the park, you can retire to either the Morefield Campground (open mid-April to mid-October; $25 per night for a site) or the Far View Motor Lodge (open April 24 to October 25; call 970-529-4422 for reservations). The campground has good facilities and more than 400 sites that are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Even in peak season, sites are usually available.


VISITOR INFORMATION

The park is open year-round, 24 hours a day. The entrance fee, good for seven days, is $20 per vehicle. The Far View Visitor Center is only open in the summer from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. daily. Check the information desk for brochures and schedules of park activities. The Chapin Mesa Museum is open year-round; summer hours are 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. daily. The museum houses interpretive exhibits about the Anasazi, including dioramas depicting various aspects of pueblo life, numerous Indian artifacts, and replicas of pit houses and cliff dwellings. For more park information, call 970-529-4461.


BEST BETS

BEST SCENIC DRIVE
Ruins Road, a six-mile loop drive around the top of Chapin Mesa, offers canyon-rim views of cliff dwellings and an up-close look at several ruins. This self-guided drive includes wayside interpretive exhibits and several scenic overlook stops. The road is open daily during the summer from 8 A.M. to sunset.

BEST SCENIC VIEW
Although Park Point rewards visitors with sweeping panoramic views of the Four Corners region, Sun Temple Overlook sits directly across the 500-foot-deep canyon from Cliff Palace. It offers a unique look at the dwelling and an especially scenic view in the late afternoon, when the canyon turns the color of fire.

BEST CLIFF DWELLING
Balcony House on Chapin Mesa is one of the most exciting dwellings to explore. Visitors are allowed to climb up a 35-foot ladder to get into the dwelling and then crawl through a tunnel and up stone staircases to get out.

BEST LODGING NEAR THE PARK
Just 20 miles from the park, Lake Mancos Ranch offers families a complete Western vacation. Besides visiting Mesa Verde, families can take trail rides into the San Juan National Forest, fish, hike, mountain bike, swim, and go on hay rides and scavenger hunts. Weekly packages include trail rides, kids' programs, meals and cabin lodging. Call 800-325-9462.

Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Updated June 2005.