Plan Your Visit
Entrance sign NPS Photo Whether you are spending a half-day or three days, preplanning will help you make the most of your visit to Mesa Verde National Park. Check out Things To Know Before You Come for help.
Cliff Palace NPS Photo Mesa Verde is always open, but opportunities vary from season to season. Visit the Operating Hours & Seasons page for park schedule information. And look for a Visitor Guide on the Brochures page to see what will be available during your trip.
Map of Chapin Mesa NPS Photo Are you looking for Wetherill Mesa? Planning a hike on the Soda Canyon Overlook Trail or a visit to Cliff Palace? Perhaps you just want to know how far it is to drive from the park entrance to see Spruce Tree House. A map might be just the thing you need. Take a look at the Maps page.
Spruce Tree House NPS Photo Mesa Verde is famous for the Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings constructed within its cliff alcoves. A trip to Mesa Verde would not be complete without a visit to one of these culturally significant sites. The Cliff Dwellings page explains what sites are open, and whether they are available on a self-guided or guided-tour only basis.
Visitors on trail NPS Photo |
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ARAMARK/Mesa Verde Company
Can't Decide What To Do While At Mesa Verde?
Visitor Guide
Did You Know?
The Ancestral Puebloans inhabited Mesa Verde for more than 700 years (550 A.D. to 1300 A.D.), but for the first six centuries, they primarily lived on the mesa tops. It was not until the final 75 to 100 years that they constructed and lived in the cliff dwellings for which Mesa Verde is known.