NPS Website; Local Website
WHAT IS IT?Numerous Ancestral Puebloan ruins situated in, on and around towering mesas situated in a piñon and juniper forest. The Site and its ruins trace Native American life on the mesas from its humble beginnings in A.D. 550 to the culture’s height from 1100 to 1300, when it was believed to be the center of the Ancestral Puebloan world.
BEAUTY (10/10)
Mesa Verde is the grandest and most breathtaking of any North American cliff dwellings. The drive here follows U.S. Route 160. Then you see a towering snow capped mesa; the site is somewhere up there. The drive up feels like an ascent into the heavens. These cliff dwellings are on top of a separate, flat world.
The road zigs and zags up removing you from the 20th Century. Your intensive time travel is about to begin. Before you reach the ruins, you pass grand vistas overlooking the valley far below. The road then descends winding around into sheltered nooks far away from the exterior world and comfortably secluded.
Here the cliff dwellings abound. Ruins are everywhere, tucked into cliff inversions, intact and one with their surroundings. The area feels bustling and impressive. Those traveling here centuries ago must have been amazed. Time has not dampened the awe.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (10/10)
Physical evidence of when people switched from hunter-gatherers to an agricultural lifestyle. Could anything be more historically significant? How about early corn domestication, a millennia of architectural change and perhaps the center of the Ancestral Puebloan world for, oh, 800 years. Whatever you want to learn and understand about southwestern Native American life is here, as is a succinct retelling of the history of man.
CROWDS (4/10)Mesa Verde NP is the United States’ most famous pre-Columbian ruin and the crowds are commensurate to this title. The Park’s high altitude (most of the ruins are above 7,000 feet) and northern trajectory (it is in Colorado) create a short window of comfortable visitation (May-October). The result is crazy summers and slow winters.
A Ranger likened the summer scene to a “milling mass of humanity”. As a result, the three most famous cliff dwellings must be seen via Ranger led tour. Charging a fee and limiting entrance is the only way to control the crowds and prevent the ruins from further ruin. Ranger tour ticket lines stretch around buildings and the scenic drive loops can become a line of I think I can RV’s inching up the steep grades.
In summer, all tours sell out early, sometimes before noon. Plan accordingly. Our mid-April visit was cold but more low-key. We enjoyed the healthy number of people around us and shared in a collective astonishment.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (2/5)
Mesa Verde NP is located in the southwestern most corner of Colorado. The Park entrance station is 36 miles west of Durango and 10 miles east of Cortez.
The Far View VC is a steep and twisty 15 miles from the entrance. From Far View, the road splits and runs along two mesas, Wetherill and Chapin. The Wetherill Mesa Road is a steep 12 miles one way and is closed for most of the year.
The Chapin Mesa Road leads to most of the Park’s famous sites. The Chapin Mesa Museum is 6 miles south of Far View. The road splits into two separate short driving loops at the Museum. The ruins along the Mesa Top Loop pullouts reveal a remarkable timeline of Ancestral Puebloan adaptation and survival. Each stop shows intellectual and architectural advancement. The Cliff Palace Loop provides access to the Park’s celebrated cliff dwellings.
Mesa Verde NP is hundreds of miles from an Interstate and on top of a steep mesa. The Park’s physical inaccessibility is countered by an outstanding road system that brings you intimately close to its ruins. We learned that a shuttle bus system a la Grand Canyon NP and Zion NP is in the works at Mesa Verde. What a great idea; let us hope it happens.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (4/5)
Mesa Verde NP has two bookstores, at Far View VC and at the Chapin Mesa Museum. The Museum store carries a larger number of book titles. The selection is large but not definitive. We expected more.
COSTS (2/5)Park entry is $10 per car or free with the National Parks Pass. This fee will cover all parts of Mesa Verde NP EXCEPT Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Long House. You must visit these cliff dwellings via a Ranger-led tour. Tickets for each of the tours cost $2.75 per person.
The Far View Lodge, run by an independent contractor, is open from Late April to mid-October. Rooms run between $110 and $127. The 435-site campground is exorbitantly priced at $20 per night. No wonder it “rarely fills”. In addition, the campground is located near the bottom of the mesa, miles from the cliff dwelling. As a forthright Ranger explained, “You are better off camping at the nearby State Park; that’s what I do.”
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (5/5)
There were not many Rangers on duty but the ones there were omnipresent and ready to help. They were stationed at the most opportune places, their rotations as diligent as Buckingham Palace guards.
TOURS/CLASSES (9/10)
Mesa Verde NP offers the Park Service’s best educational experience in its 30+ Ancestral Puebloan sites. The Site is the top place in the United States to learn about the largest and most advanced pre-Columbian society.
Mesa Verde NP is distinguished by its wide array of learning opportunities: 2 museums, 3 guided Ranger tours, Rangers stationed at overlooks and numerous self-guided trail brochures. We especially enjoyed the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and the Mesa Top Loop Drive’s self-guided trail companion. Both are must see tours in a must see Park.
The Archeological Museum contains a wealth of information and artifacts, all arranged in an easily digestible format. It is an in-depth explanation of an 800-year old culture describing what they ate, farmed, built, wore, lived together, prospered and learned. The Museum addresses the mysteries of the past but, unlike so many other sites, emphasizes archeological evidence and established fact. The Museum brings these ancient people to life and grounds what could be an overwhelming visit.
The abstract Museum learning of Ancestral Puebloan progress becomes clear on the Mesa Top Loop Drive. Each pull off stop has archeological ruins that showcase architectural, agricultural and adaptive development. Here the Museum learning becomes real and the unwieldy task of 1,000 years of history becomes somehow manageable.
For us, the best part of Mesa Verde NP was its Rangers. To a person, their knowledge was immense and they seemed eager to teach. We spent over two hours talking to various Rangers about all things Ancestral Puebloan. Their answers were humble, profound and helpful. If you come here be sure to engage the Rangers, they are a true treasure.FUN (10/10)
Visiting Mesa Verde NP in early spring felt like attending a private showing of a blockbuster film. We avoided the summer heat and crowds and enjoyed great scenery, a fantastic educational experience and engaging Rangers unhurried.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (10/10)
If you visit only one archeological ruin in the United States, make it Mesa Verde NP. This is the best place to learn about pre-1492 North American human life.
TOTAL 66/80
www.usa-c2c.com
© 2005