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National Park
Mesa Verde
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde's Largest Cliff Dwelling NPS Photo
Overview
For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage of 27 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular window into the past. This World Heritage Site and International Dark Sky Park is home to over a thousand species, including several that live nowhere else on earth.
Purchase digital park entrance passes on recreation.gov at no additional cost. Once purchased, passes for Mesa Verde National Park must be printed or saved on your mobile device prior to use. Connectivity is limited in the park, therefore printing the permit or saving it on your phone is highly recommended.
Passes, including the America the Beautiful, National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Passes, such as the Annual, Access, or Senior pass may be purchased at the entrance station upon arrival.
Entrance - Per Person: 15.00
Purchase digital park entrance passes on recreation.gov at no additional cost. Once purchased, passes for Mesa Verde National Park must be printed or saved on your mobile device prior to use. Connectivity is limited in the park, therefore printing the permit or saving it on your phone is highly recommended.
Passes, including the America the Beautiful, National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Passes, such as the Annual, Access, or Senior pass may be purchased at the entrance station upon arrival.
Entrance - Motorcycle: 15.00
This pass is good for 7 days.
Map
Things To Do
Category
2 Results
Visit Mesa Verde's Historic Administrative District
Free
Description
Take a walk amid the early park structures that comprise the Historic Administrative District of Mesa Verde National Park. Established in 1987 the historic district comprises structures with architectural designs based in strong indigenous cultural traditions and blend into their environment. The Pueblo Revival style buildings have a unique place in the development of architecture in this country.
The 6-mile (10 km) Mesa Top Loop takes you through 700 years of Ancestral Pueblo history. From remains of early pithouses and masonry villages to multi-storied cliff dwellings, the archeological sites along this loop show how early Pueblo architecture evolved. Archeology and Pueblo oral histories shed light on what life may have been like for people who lived, worked, and raised families here for generations.
Large cliff dwelling in cliff alcovePark visitors visiting a cliff dwellingA cliff dwelling within a cliff alcove seen from across a canyonView of cliff dwelling from above a canyonView of cliff dwelling from across canyonWithin a cliff dwellingVisitor center entrance with sculpture of Ancestral Pueblo climber in front plaza.
