Visiting in Spring

Be Prepared for Winter Weather Road Conditions

Spring weather is variable at Mesa Verde. With elevations over 7,000 feet (2134 m), snow is possible throughout the season. Check the weather forecasts multiple times in the days and hours before your visit. Delayed road and park openings are posted on the current conditions page and Mesa Verde's Facebook page.

 

An early spring snow highlights the entrance to Mesa Verde Museum.

NPS Photo 2024 Mimi Gorman

Places to Visit in Spring

There is so much to love about visiting Mesa Verde National Park in spring. With fewer visitors the sites are less crowded. Trails begin to thaw. The campground and other facilities reopen. Many cliff dwellings are visible from overlooks and ranger guided cliff dwelling tours begin in mid-May.

BUT winter conditions often linger throughout much of spring. Check out snow-related activities including snowshoeing and skiing, on the Winter at Mesa Verde webpage.

Information and Exhibits along the Way

• Visitor and Research Center and park store - Open daily 8:30 am - 4 pm
• Mesa Verde Museum - Open 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
• Mesa Verde Historic Administrative District
• Waysides and exhibits along the drive, weather dependent
• Park Point - highest point in the park - Open daily 8 am - sunset, weather dependent

Pithouses, Pueblos, and Cliff Dwellings

• Spruce Tree House Overlook
• Mesa Top Loop Road - Open daily 8 am to sunset, weather dependent
• Cliff Palace Loop Road - Open daily 8 am to sunset, weather dependent
• Cedar Tree Tower - Open daily 8 am-sunset
• Far View Sites - Open daily 8 am-sunset, weather dependent

Trails

• Petroglyph Point Trail and Spruce Canyon Trail - Traction devices (boot spikes, Yaktraks, etc) are highly reccomended
• Morefield Campground Trails (Point Lookout, Knife Edge, and Prater Ridge) - Snowshoes or skiis may be required
• Park Point elevation 8572 ft (2613 m) - Open daily 8 am-sunset, weather dependent

Please check with the ranger at the entrance gate for current conditions. Consider hiking boots or snow boots, warm layered clothing, a hat, gloves, snacks, sunglasses, and water.

Overnight camping and lodging in the park become available in April or May. Otherwise, accommodations are available in nearby communities. Limited food service is available at the Spruce Tree Terrace Cafe.

 

Trip Planning Suggestions

If you have a few hours:

• Your first stop should be at the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center at the park entrance for information, orientation, and current road and trail conditions.

• Plan to spend 90 minutes on the roundtrip drive up and down the mesa. Enjoy some of the scenic overlooks along the drive.

• Visit the Spruce Tree House Overlook by the museum.

• Drive the Mesa Top Loop Road, a six-mile loop designed as an introduction to the history and culture of the Ancestral Pueblo people at Mesa Verde, and listen to the Mesa Top Loop audio tour (43 minutes). Make sure you download the tour before starting the drive; service is spotty in much of the park.

If you have a day:

• Walk the .75-mile (1.2 km) trail through old-growth pinyon-juniper forest between the Far View Sites, a mesa-top farming community with five excavated villages and a reservoir. The gate to Far View will remain closed during snowy conditions. However, visitors are allowed to walk or snowshoe in to visit the Far View Sites during normal open hours, 8 am to sunset.

• Visit Park Point, the highest point in the park at 8,427 feet (2,569 m), and enjoy dramatic 360° views of the entire Four Corners region.

• Hike the Petroglyph Point Trail, with a cliffside view of old-growth pinyon-juniper woodlands. This out-and-back nature hike is 2.4 miles (3.9 km) roundtrip on rough terrain. Expect icy and/or muddy trail conditions. Traction devices are recommended. Park trails sometimes close during snowy conditions. Please check with a ranger for information on current closures.

• Snowshoe or cross-country ski in the park, conditions permitting. Check current conditions and read about skiing and snowshoeing opportunities on our Winter Activities page. Ask at the Visitor Center or Entrance Station about borrowing snowshoes. Please check with a ranger for the most up-to-date information.

If you have more than a day:

• Experience Mesa Verde's exceptionally dark night sky. Mesa Verde celebrated the park's certification as the 100th International Dark Sky Park in 2021.

• Explore more of Mesa Verde's nearly 30 miles of hiking trails. Depending on snow conditions, hiking trails may be closed, or open for snowshoe and cross-country ski use only. Check with a ranger for current conditions and closures.

• Visit Cedar Tree Tower and the .5-mile (0.8 km) Farming Terrace Trail to see how Ancestral Pueblo people farmed on the mesa.

• Visit other cultural sites around the area, including Canyons of the Ancients, Hovenweep, Aztec, and Chimney Rock National Monuments.