I read travel blogs for information, inspiration and travel ideas. Visiting Mesa Verde national park was inspired by one of the travel blogs. This park is one of the UNESCO heritage sites and known for its well preserved ancient Puebloan cliff dwellings. The archeological sites, petroglyphs, and Museum within the park give an insight of Puebloan history.

ACCOMMODATIONS

We were on a road trip for 11 days and we visited Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Arches & Mesa Verde national park. We choose Monticello, UT as our base location for our visit to Arches & Mesa Verde. It was a perfect location with Arches on the north(60 miles) and Mesa Verde on the south(70 miles).Unlike Moab, the accommodation in Monticello was cost-effective. We stayed in Wayside Motor Inn for two nights. Lodging is also available within the park.

Things to do

Whether you have few hours or one day, here are some suggestions for making the most of your time in the park.

• Ranger Guided Tour to Cliff Dwellings

Stop at the visitor center near the park entrance and buy your tickets for the ranger-guided tour. There are three tours available every hour for $5 per person. You can also buy tickets from Colorado Welcome Centre, Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum or Moorefield ranger station. The guided tour gives you an insight into ancient villages, lifestyle, events, and circumstances why people built cliff dwellings.We chose Cliff Palace tour and would highly recommend it.

Cliff Palace – Most famous one hour tour with ¼ mile walking distance.

Balcony House – Most adventurous one hour tour with ¼ mile walking distance.

Long House – Most in-depth two-hour tour with 2.25-mile walking distance.

• Driving Mesa Loop

The Mesa loop on Chapin Mesa is a 6-mile drive. The loop has multiple archaeological sites like pit houses, Sun temple, and ceremonial chambers. It also offers amazing canyon views. It takes 1-2 hours to complete the loop. Every stop along the loop has easily accessible, short, paved walking trails. Ample parking is available along the road.

• Visit Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum

The Museum is 21 miles south of the visitor center. It exhibits lives of ancestral Pueblo people, ancient tools, basketry, and pottery. It also runs 25-minute informative park video (shown every half hour). You can view Spruce tree house from the balcony behind the Rangers office, adjacent to Museum. Ample parking is available. Park cafeteria is also located near the Museum. It has vegetarian options too.

• Hike Petroglyph Point Trail

There are a couple of trails to hike in the park. We chose Petroglyph trail as it was a short trail and we wanted to see Petroglyph panel. The trailhead starts at the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum. The trail is approx. 2.5-mile and it follows an ancient canyon path to the petroglyph panel. It’s a medium difficulty trail with narrow passages and stone steps. After the petroglyph panel, it then climbs to the mesa top with amazing views of Spruce canyon. The trail is clearly marked and it has plenty of shade to catch your breath. You can get the detailed map of the trail from the Museum. It’s a fun trail and would highly recommend it.

• Sunset at Montezuma Valley Overlook

At the end of our guided tour, we asked our Ranger for a sunset point in the park and she suggested Montezuma Valley overlook point. It has one picnic table with beautiful views of the valley. Gorgeous sunset behind the mountains. With very few people at this overlook, you can enjoy the beautiful sunset. Loved it!

Mesa Verde national park is one of the most underrated national parks in the US. If you are visiting Arches National Park, then think about spending a day at Mesa Verde. You will not be disappointed at all.