Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park

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Mesa Verde National Park

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A fascinating, if slightly eerie, national park. Anthropologists will love it here; Mesa Verde is unique among American national parks in its focus on maintaining this civilization's cultural relics rather than its natural treasures. About 20 miles from the park entrance, the Chapin Mesa Museum has diorama of Ancestral Pueblo life, a few artifacts and good history lessons. The park also offers plenty of hiking, skiing, snowshoeing and mountain-biking options. Visitors can camp out or stay in luxury at the lodge.

The museum's 25-minute intro film is worth it, especially for families.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

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1. Park Point

3.59 MILES

The fire lookout at Park Point is the highest elevation (8571ft) in the park and offers panoramic views. To the north are the 14,000ft peaks of the San…

2. Chapin Mesa Museum

5.73 MILES

The Chapin Mesa Museum has exhibits pertaining to the park and is a good first stop. Staff at the museum provide information on weekends when the park…

3. Spruce Tree House

6.31 MILES

This Ancestral Puebloan ruin is the most accessible of the archaeological sites, although the half-mile round-trip access track is still a moderately…

4. Chapin Mesa

6.4 MILES

The largest concentration of Ancestral Puebloan sites is at Chapin Mesa, where you'll see the densely clustered Far View Site and the large Spruce Tree…

5. Cliff Palace

6.68 MILES

The only way to see the superb Cliff Palace is to take the hour-long ranger-led tour. The tour retraces the steps taken by the Ancestral Puebloans –…

6. Balcony House

6.9 MILES

Tickets are required for the one-hour guided tours of Balcony House, on the east side of the Cliff Palace Loop. A visit is an adventure that will…

7. Step House

7.92 MILES

Step House was initially occupied by Modified Basketmaker peoples residing in pithouses, and later became the site of a Classic Pueblo–period masonry…

8. Wetherill Mesa

7.98 MILES

Wetherill Mesa is the second-largest concentration of sites. Visitors may enter stabilized surface sites and two cliff dwellings, including the Long House…