Cedar Tree Tower

Located on a Spur Road near the Museum area, Self-Guided, no fee required.

At Mesa Verde, towers were primarily built during the Classic period!

Cedar Tree Tower is one of several tower sites that have been discovered on the mesa tops. Towers were primarily built during the Classic period (AD 1100 to 1300) at Mesa Verde and are usually associated with a kiva. The purpose of a tower-kiva complex is not known. Some speculation is that towers had a ceremonial purpose based on their close association with kivas. Other people have proposed that the mesa top towers were part of a communication system.

Adjacent to the Cedar Tree Tower area is the trail head for the Farming Terrace Trail. This 1/2 mile loop trail provides an opportunity for a leisurely hike. Along the trail there is a good example of an Ancestral Puebloan farming terrace.

Terracing was a common farming strategy used by the people of Mesa Verde. Today we wonder what prompted the people of this region to create farm plots in the natural drainages. Was it to take advantage of water run-off from the mesa tops after a rain storm? Or was it to trap rich top soil before it could be completely washed away? Rich top soil washed down into the canyon bottoms if farming terraces and check dams hadn't been built.

This walk explores how farming was accomplished 800 years ago.