@NP.Adventuring - Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde National Park Website

Mesa Verde was the last stop of our June 2021 road trip. We stayed in nearby Mancos, CO which is a very small town but we wanted to be closer to the park than Durango or Cortez because we knew that the drive to the park entrance is just half the battle. The drives from the entrance gate to the cliff dwellings are 1 hour minimum. They were working on the roads on the Cliff Palace Loop and all the tickets were sold out for guided tours so the only cliff dwelling we could tour was Step House. This hike is a pretty easy 1 mile loop that starts in the Wetherill Mesa parking lot. It's a mostly paved trail with a few areas with stairs to get down to the dwelling.

The dwelling is one of the smaller ones at the park but it shows how the pit houses were constructed along with the cliff dwellings. The kids loved looking at all the buildings, petroglyphs, artifacts, and climbing the ladder to see the higher parts.

We had lunch after the hike in the picnic area next to the parking lot. There was a ranger stationed there so the kids were able to finish their Junior Ranger books and get there pins without having to go back to a visitor center. We then made the 1.25 hour drive to the other side of the park to see Cliff Palace and Balcony House (and other dwellings) from the Mesa Top Loop. This loop has lots of Pit houses and villages that you can stop and walk through. There are also many overlooks to stop and look across the valley to see the other cliff dwellings, most of which are not allowed to be visited.

This was the kids first time to Mesa Verde but it was our second time. The first time we were able to do the Balcony house and Cliff Palace tours. They are really good tours, but you need to plan ahead and get tickets early. Balcony house was our favorite, especially the big climb out.

This park rates at 3 out of 5 stars based on our standard criteria.

Rating Criteria: Fun, Scenic, Ease of Travel, Wildlife, Crowds

Pit Stop: The day after we visited Mesa Verde we wanted to put the dusty trails out of our minds so we headed to Lake Nighthorse over by Durango, CO. It was a fun day playing in the water and challenging ourselves on the floating obstacle course.