Things To Do

IF YOU HAVE ONE HALF DAY OR LESS...

Plan to spend at least four hours at Mesa Verde. Two hours of this time will be spent driving in and out of the park.

Your first stop should be at the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center (at the park entrance) for information and orientation.
Visit the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum, view Spruce Tree House nearby -and- drive the Mesa Top Loop Road (six-mile loop).

IF YOU HAVE ONE DAY...

Stop at the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center (at the park entrance) to purchase tickets to visit Cliff Palace or Balcony House.
Drive the Cliff Palace/Balcony House Loop Road. If you plan to visit Cliff Palace or Balcony House, be sure to purchase your tickets at the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center first.
Visit the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum, view Spruce Tree House nearby -and- drive the Mesa Top Loop Road (six-mile loop).
Hike the Far View Sites Complex.

IF YOU HAVE ONE DAY (alternative)...

Stop at the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center (at the park entrance) to purchase tickets to visit Long House on Wetherill Mesa.
Take the Wetherill Mesa Drive and hike or bicycle the trails to the mesa top sites and cliff dwelling overlooks.
Join a ranger for your ticketed tour to Long House. Be sure to purchase your tickets at the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center before driving to Wetherill Mesa.
Take a self-guided tour of Step House.

IF YOU HAVE TWO DAYS OR MORE (one day activities plus)...

Stop at the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center (at the park entrance) to purchase tickets to visit all three cliff dwellings (Cliff Palace, Balcony House, and Long House).
Hike one or more of Mesa Verde's hiking trails.