Pets

Meredith and Rex model good etiquette for Mesa Verde by staying on paved trails and on leash. Even though they are working with a retractable leash, they keep it at under 6 feet (1.8 m).

NPS/Spencer Burke

Visiting with Your Pet

If you plan to hike, take a tour, or be inside a building consider inquiring at the campground store for dog boarding or read the information below. To protect your pets, wildlife, and other visitors, please follow these regulations:

• Pets must be leashed (6 feet/1.8 m or shorter leash) and under controll at all times.
  • Leashed pets are allowed on roads, parking lots, and paved areas on Mesa Top Loop and Park Point but not on trails, in ancestral sites or buildings.
  • At Wetherill Mesa, pets are permitted on all trails except for the trails leading into Step House and Long House.
• Do not leave pets tethered or unattended.
• You must clean up after your pet.

Following the regulations will protect your pets, wildlife, and other visitors.

Service Animals

Service animals are allowed anywhere that you are allowed to go in Mesa Verde. For more information, visit the service animals page.

 

Keep Your Pets Safe

Keep your pets well hydrated and cool. Water is available at the restrooms in the Park Headquarters area and at the Visitor & Research Center, and seasonally at the Morefield Campground, Wetherill Mesa, and Cliff Palace parking lot.

Temperatures at Mesa Verde are often too high to safely leave pets inside vehicles. Leaving a window open is not enough: temperatures inside cars can rise nearly 20 degrees Fahrenheit within ten minutes, with with windows cracked.

If hiking with your pet at Wetherill, consider not only the air temperature but also the temperature of the paved trails. Hot pavement can injure paws that are not protected.

Sometimes your pets are happier, and safer, staying at home.

 

Boarding

A kennel is available in the Morefield Campground. See the kennel section of Aramark's Morefield Campground webpage, or call the kennel at 970-565-2133, for current information on kennel hours and pricing.

The following organizations can provide additional information on boarding pets in neighboring communities:

• Mesa Verde Country

• Colorado Welcome Center
  Cortez, CO

• Mancos Visitor Center
  Mancos, CO
  970-533-7434
  Open spring, summer, and fall

• Dolores Visitor Center
  Dolores, CO
  970-882-4018

• Durango Area Tourism Office
  Durango, CO
  970-247-3500 or 800-463-8726