Located in southwest Colorado, Mesa Verde is one of the best places to view the ancient cliff dwellings built by the Anasazi. They lived throughout the area from about AD 550 to 1300, when their dwellings were suddenly abandoned. (Other popular sites are at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, Canyon de Chelly in Arizona and Hovenweep National Monument on the Utah-Colorado border.) We find Mesa Verde to be the most striking of the Anasazi sites because you get to view the cliff dwellings at close range. Some tours even let you enter the structures.
As the name suggests, Mesa Verde is on a mesa, and you have to make a long, though beautiful, drive across the upland plateau to reach the ruins. You get some great views of the distant San Juan Mountains from scenic pull-offs along the way. Be sure to stop at the Far View Visitor Center, where you buy tickets for the guided tours. For an introduction to the Anasazi culture and their communities at Mesa Verde, stop at the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum. Note that most of the park attractions are open mid-April to mid-October.
More than 40 different pueblo ruins can be viewed in the park, but there are three standouts: Spruce Tree House, Cliff Palace and Balcony House. Spruce Tree House is tucked beneath a cliff just a short walk from the museum. It can be viewed on a self-guided tour in the summer and on a ranger-led tour the rest of the year. Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in the world and can only be reached on a guided tour. You also need to join a tour to see Balcony House, our favorite part of the park. It's perched in a cave high above the valley floor. (To tour the ruin you need to climb up and down several ladders, so if you fear heights, you may want to steer clear—though we saw small children going up and down with no problem.) Observing the rooms and passageways and looking out over the valley floor really gives you a better understanding of what it might have been like to live there.
If you visit in late May-early June, be sure to take in the Indian Arts and Culture Festival, celebrating Mesa Verde's cultural heritage with an art market, auction, music, dance and dramatic performances, and special tours.
A visit to Mesa Verde could fill two days, but even a half-day will give you enough time to make the drive across the plateau and see one or two of the ruins. There's a campground and a lodge in the park for those spending the night. 250 mi/400 km southwest of Denver.
