Mesa Verde National Park

Although it’s located near some of the most popular “natural wonders” in the United States, Mesa Verde National Park is all about preserving some man-made wonders.  The park comprises a little over 81 square miles in southwestern Colorado, not far from the “Four Corners” where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico meet.

Mesa Verde is known for having over 600 cliff dwellings built into caves and under cliff outcroppings.  It’s estimated that the Ancestral Pueblo people (also known as the Anasazi) lived here from 600 A.D. to about 1300 A.D.  Their early years – several hundred of them – were spent in adobe homes on the mesa tops before they started building their cliff-side homes around the end of the 12th century.

The largest of the dwellings is Cliff Palace, made of sandstone, mortar and wooden beams.  It contained over 170 rooms and was home to around 100 Anasazi.  The “Palace” was discovered in 1888 by Richard Wetherhill and Charlie Mason while they were out looking for some missing cattle.  (You should’ve seen the looks on their faces!)

Mesa Verde is a “must see” stop on any tour of the American southwest.  It’s easily combined with visits to Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park (both about 150 miles away), the Grand Canyon (300 miles), Bryce Canyon (400 miles) and Zion National Park (350 miles).

Cortez, Colorado is the nearest town of any size, with quite a few places to stay.

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