News Release

Cliff Palace Road Construction Delayed in Mesa Verde National Park

Date: June 24, 2022
Contact: [e-mail], 970-529-5085

Mesa Verde, CO: Material availability issues have delayed completion of construction on the Cliff Palace Loop Road until mid to late July.  There is no access during ongoing construction to sites along the Cliff Palace Loop Road, including Cliff Palace and Balcony House. The most up-to-date information on road construction and other park closures can be found on the park’s website at Closures - Mesa Verde National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) 

This construction delay will also delay the start of ranger-guided tours of Cliff Palace and Balcony House. Tours will resume when the road reopens. Tour tickets will become available for advance purchase on a rolling basis seven days prior to reopening. Tour tickets can be purchased only on recreation.gov or by calling 877-444-6777.  

While the Cliff Palace Loop Road remains closed due to construction, visitors can still enjoy numerous self-guided sites within Mesa Verde National Park, including Step House, the Far View Sites, Cedar Tree Tower, and nearly 30 miles of hiking trails. Visitors may still see Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park, from Sun Temple and Sun Point overlooks, along the Mesa Top Loop Road. The 6-mile Mesa Top Loop Road offers visitors a self-guided driving tour through 700 years of Ancestral Pueblo history and culture, including everything from early pithouses and masonry villages to spectacular views of Mesa Verde’s many cliff dwellings. Along the road, visitors will find short, easily accessible paved trails to view twelve ancestral sites. The Mesa Top Loop Road is open daily, 8:00 am to sunset.  An audio tour is available for download, narrated by Park Ranger TJ Atsye from Laguna Pueblo, who leads visitors along the footsteps left behind by her Pueblo ancestors. Archeology and Pueblo oral histories shed light on what life may have been like for people who lived, worked, and raised families here for generations.   

On Wetherill Mesa, visitors can hike the 1-mile roundtrip trail into Step House, the one cliff dwelling that can be visited without purchasing a tour ticket. Step House is staffed by rangers and open daily between 9:00 am and 3:45 pm. Long House, the second-largest cliff dwelling in the park, is open for ranger-assisted tours. Visitors will enjoy changing landscapes, picturesque views of distant canyons and mesas, and a spectacular well-preserved cliff dwelling with over 150 rooms and an active seep spring. Tour tickets can be reserved 14 days in advance, 8:00 am MST only on recreation.gov or by calling 877-444-6777. For example, tickets for July 31 will be available starting July 17 at 8:00 am MDT. Demand for tour tickets is high. We recommend reserving tickets as soon as they become available.