Mesa Verde NP In Colorado

You cannot go inside of the cliff dwellings but you can view them from several different viewing areas. In fact, there are more than 20 viewing areas. Bring a good camera! The Indians lived in the Pit Houses. They are very simply designed and make very good use of space. The dwellings are very structurally sound.

They held their religious ceremonies in the kivas. There are 150 rooms and 23 kivas here. They built several outdoor social areas for their gatherings. At one time an estimated 100 Puebloan Indians lived here.

The Puebloan Indians were excellent craftsmen. They were some of the finest basket makers of our times. They were also very skillful at pottery making and good farmers.

The Puebloan Indians lived here for about 100 years. Then they abandoned this dwelling around 1300 AD. Nobody knows for sure why they left.

Building their amazing dwellings into the sides of huge cliffs gave them protection from the elements. Their landscape views are breathtaking. These are absolutely some of the best preserved cliff dwellings around.

Mesa Verde Pictures

Hiking

Besides viewing the cliff dwellings, there is some great hiking to be done in this national park. The Prater Ridge Trail is a 7.8 mile hiking loop. The Knife Edge Trail takes you to an overlook of the Montezuma Valley. It is 2 miles round trip. The Point Lookout Trail is only 2.2 miles and takes you to an excellent lookout point of Montezuma and Mancos valleys. The Petroglyph Point Trail has beautiful views of the local canyons and is a 2.4 mile round trip hike. The Spruce Canyon Trail is a 2.4 mile hike to the bottom of the canyon. And last, but not least, is the 1.2 mile hike of the Soda Canyon Overlook Trail. This hike will take you along the edge of the canyon for some great views of the local area.

Mesa Verde Lodging

Hotels near Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde NP Map

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