12 Best Things to do in Mesa Verde National Park
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Are you headed to Colorado’s national parks this summer? You’re not going to want to miss out on the best things to do in Mesa Verde National Park.
Located in the remote southwestern corner of Colorado, Mesa Verde often flies under the national park radar—it gets half a million visitors per year, compared to Rocky Mountain’s 4.5 million.
But Mesa Verde offers something no other national park in the US does: the impressively engineered cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo people, who lived here from 550 to 1300 A.D.
Here are our favorite things to do in Mesa Verde National Park to explore its 4700+ archaeological sites.
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Buy a Souvenir at the Visitor Center
Located near the park entrance, the Visitor and Research Center is the perfect place to learn about the park and plan your visit.
You can pick up maps, ask a ranger about hiking and tour options, and explore the exhibits highlighting the culture and daily life of the Ancestral Puebloans.
Learn at Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum
This century-old museum is made of the same sandstone the Ancestral Puebloans used to build their cliff dwellings. It houses various artifacts like clothing, jewelry, and housewares to give visitors a glimpse of what life was like in Mesa Verde’s heyday.
The Ancestral Pueblo people built an elaborate network of homes and communities here around 1400 years ago, long before Europeans arrived in North America, and flourished for over 700 years before moving away.
Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum is one of the best things to do in Mesa Verde National Park for history buffs. Unfortunately, it’s closed at the moment for renovations. Check back here before your visit to see if it’s reopened.
Visit Far View House
Take a self-guided tour of the Far View Sites Complex, one of Mesa Verde’s most densely populated areas between 900 and 1300 A.D.
A short trail leads you through the network of stone walls, aboveground rooms, and subterranean chambers of sites like Far View House, Pipe Shrine House, and Coyote Village.
Hike Soda Canyon Overlook Trail
At just over a mile long, this trail is perfect for hikers of all skill levels and is a great way to explore Mesa Verde’s natural beauty if you’re short on time.
It leads to three different overlooks, where you can take in views of the park, the canyon, and some of the Ancestral Puebloans’ handiwork. Bring binoculars for best views of the cliff dwellings.
Hike Petroglyph Point Trail
If you’re looking for more of a challenge, Petroglyph Point Trail is one of the best hikes in Mesa Verde National Park.
This three-mile, moderately difficult loop offers lovely views of the forests and cliff dwellings, but the highlight is a set of well-preserved petroglyphs carved into the rock face by the Ancestral Pueblo people.
You’ll see intricate designs of people, plants, animals, mountains, and more that have been preserved for hundreds of years.
Take a Cliff Dwelling Tour with a Ranger
Cliff dwelling tours are one of the best things to do in Mesa Verde National Park because they put you up close and personal in the daily life of the Ancestral Puebloans.
Although you’ll be able to see the dwellings from a distance while hiking through the park, entering most cliff dwellings requires a ticket on a ranger-guided tour. Tours run seasonally from May to October; check the schedule and reserve your spot here.
You can tour Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America. It took the Ancestral Puebloans nearly a century to build, and it’s considered one of their greatest engineering and architectural achievements.
For a more adventurous option, visit Balcony House, where you can follow the Ancestral Puebloans’ footsteps by squeezing through narrow tunnels and climbing ladders up cliff faces.
Experienced hikers will enjoy a tour of Square Tower House, a more challenging route with steep drop-offs, switchbacks, and boulder scrambling. Square Tower House is the tallest standing structure in Mesa Verde, and one of the most impressive, with an intact roof, original plaster and paint, and plenty of rock art to admire.
Stargaze at Night
A certified International Dark Sky Park since 2021, Mesa Verde offers visitors breathtaking views of the night sky. The cliff dwellings and trails are closed after dark, so your best options for stargazing are at Morefield Campground and Far View Lodge.
Break out your warm layers and blankets to appreciate the park after dark—knowing that the Ancestral Puebloans were looking up at these same stars over a thousand years ago.
Camp in the Park
Camping is one of our favorite things to do in Mesa Verde National Park because it fully immerses you in the area’s rugged outdoors. Bring your tent or RV to Morefield Campground, just a few miles past the Visitor Center.
Morefield offers a full-service village, complete with bathrooms and showers, a gas station, coin-operated laundry, a camp supply store, and more. Morefield is open seasonally from April through October. Reservations are accepted but not required, as the campground rarely fills up.
For less rugged accommodations, you can stay in Far View Lodge, the only hotel inside the park. From April to October, Far View Lodge offers modern comforts set in the solitude of Mesa Verde National Park, with sweeping views and plenty of opportunities for wildlife watching.
Explore Cortez
If you don’t stay in the park, the small town of Cortez, about 15 minutes west, is your best bet. Cortez offers a variety of lodging and dining options and is considered the gateway to Mesa Verde’s cliff dwellings.
To round out your education on the region’s history and culture, visit the ancient ruins of Hovenweep National Monument, the Cortez Cultural Center, and the Notah Dineh Trading Company and Museum. These are some of the best things to do around Mesa Verde National Park for fans of history and art.
Drive Mesa Top Loop Road
This six-mile driving tour winds through Mesa Verde’s beautiful natural scenery as well as 700 years of Ancestral Puebloan history. Several short, paved trails along the way let you explore 12 archaeological sites, showing how Ancestral Puebloan architecture evolved over time from pit houses to pueblos to multi-story cliff dwellings.
Mesa Top Loop Road is one of the best things to do in Mesa Verde National Park for families because the paved trails are accessible to everyone. It’s open year-round from 8 a.m. to sunset.
Take in the View from Park Point Fire Lookout
This lookout is not only scenic, but also practical. At the highest elevation in Mesa Verde National Park (over 8500 feet above sea level), Park Point is used by the National Park Service during wildfire season to gather information on lightning, wind, and other weather conditions.
For the rest of us, Park Point is the perfect spot to pause, have a picnic, and take in the beauty of Southwestern Colorado. You’ll see panoramic views of the surrounding deserts, canyons, and San Juan Mountains.
Park Point is located 12 miles inside the park, about a 20-minute drive from the Visitor Center.
Dine in the Metate Room
The Metate Room Restaurant inside Far View Lodge is open seasonally from May to October. It prides itself on its regionally inspired menu, and beautiful scenery, both inside and out—Native American artwork graces the walls, and floor-to-ceiling windows offer spacious views of the park.
This is the only sit-down restaurant inside the park, and it’s a welcome way to unwind after a long day of hiking and exploring. It tends to get crowded, so reservations are recommended.
Though Mesa Verde is one of the lesser-known national parks, its awe-inspiring cliff dwellings make it a unique, unmissable stop on any Colorado road trip.
Between the park’s thousands of archaeological sites and miles of hiking trails, history buffs, and outdoor enthusiasts alike will find something to love here. These are the best things to do in Mesa Verde National Park to make the most of your visit.
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