mesa verde tours 2022

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Your Guide to the Mesa Verde National Park Tours in 2022

Mesa Verde is a U.S. National Park known for its Cliff Dwellings and ancient architecture that goes back years ago. So history and cultures buff will surely appreciate the park, and the best way to do that is to join a tour or two with the park ranger. 

Table of Contents

Mesa Verde Self-Guided Tours: Can You Tour Mesa Verde On Your Own?

Mesa verde tours.

• Cliff Palace
• Balcony House

How Long Does Each Tour Take?

• The Cliff Palace tour takes approximately 30 minutes. 
• The Balcony House  tour takes approximately 60 minutes. 
• The Long House tour takes approximately 60 minutes.
• Driving time . Mesa Verde National Park is huge; believe me, most of your time will be spent driving.  
• You are required to show up 15 mins earlier before each tour to go over the safety information. 
• There may be delays or any unforeseen circumstances during your tour or after. 
• Sometimes, the tour can go longer than anticipated . 
• 2 hours between the time you book this Cliff Palace tour and a Balcony House tour (i.e., 9:00 AM CP and 11:00 PM BH).
• 3 hours between the time you book this Cliff Palace tour and a Long House tour (i.e., 10:00 AM CP and 1:00 PM or later LH).
• 4 hours between the time you book this Long House tour and a Cliff Palace tour (i.e., 10:00 AM LH and a 2:00 PM or later CP). This will allow you a little extra time to enjoy the sites at Wetherill Mesa and drive to Cliff Palace.

Mesa Verde Tour Cost

• General Admission: $8
• Infant (age 2 and under): $1
• Cancellation Fee: $1 per ticket

How Difficult Is Each Tour?

It’s not so much about hiking to do each cliff-dwelling tour at Mesa Verde National Park. However, each tour requires climbing up and down to go through a cliff dwelling, and the effort can be anywhere from easy and moderate to difficult , depending on your physical conditions. Therefore, the tour is not for you if you have mobility issues or concerning physical health. So plan accordingly before purchasing any tour tickets. 

Best Cliff Dwelling Tours at Mesa Verde

• The Cliff Palace  tour is the easiest and fastest tour, and it’s also the most popular cliff dwelling picture you see when you google Mesa Verde National Park. You go through the tour listening to the ranger’s narrative and move through the cliff dwelling without touching anything. 
• The Balcony House tour requires a better fitness level and takes an hour to complete. It’s also the hardest tour to get tickets because they only offer 3 tours per day with a limited amount of tickets sold. It is one of the most adventurous tours in the park as you move through the cliff dwelling by claiming tall ladders, squeezing your way through a narrow tunnel, etc. See the photo below. This tour lets you touch the dwelling (but not all) as you move through the site. 
• The Long House  tour also takes an hour and is a little further away to drive to it. It’s the least popular Mesa Verde National Park tour and can also be challenging to move through the cliff dwelling. 

How to Book Mesa Verde Tours?

• First and foremost, ensure the cliff dwelling or road is not closed for the date you will visit the park for your tour. 
• You can view the alerts from the official Mesa Verde National Park website .
• Go to the Recreative Gov website and create an account if you do not have one. 
• Sit down and figure out what dates and times you want to do the tour and how many tickets you will need. You can see each Mesa tour hours here:
• All tour reservations can be booked online 14 days in advance at 8 AM Colorado or Mountain Standard Time (MST) . Therefore, 14 days before your desired tour date, set a reminder before 8 AM Colorado time, and get your credit card ready. 
• I suggest you perform a “mock” reservation on a sample date without paying for the reservation to familiarize yourself with the booking process for the tour tickets and quantities you want.
• Simply go to the Recreation Gov Mesa Verde Tour website to book. 
• Remember that the  Balcony House  tour can be sold out in 2-3 minutes, so be strategic and ready to book in front of your computer if this tour is high on your list. 

Best Places to Stay Near Mesa Verde National Park

• I suggest you stay in Cortez to better use your time because Mesa Verde National Park is huge, and you will spend most of your time driving to the park entrance and each cliff dwelling site from the park entrance. 
• Durango is a more interesting town with more attractions, especially its scenic train ride between Durango and Silverton , but it can be far from Mesa Verde. Lodging is also more expensive. 
• If you want to stay in the National Park, there’s a Far View Lodge  inside the park, and they accept pets for $25 per night. 
• Holiday Inn Express Mesa Verde-Cortez – pets are not allowed.
• Hampton Inn Mesa Verde/Cortez – pet fee is $50 per stay, up to 2 pets allowed. 
• Best Western Turquoise Inn & Suites – pet fee is $20 per night, up to 2 pets allowed. However, when I called them, they said $20 per stay, so please double-check. 
• Baymont by Wyndham Cortez – pet fee is $15 per stay, up to 2 pets allowed. 
• Also, some more budgeted  Choice Hotels  are available too. Each hotel charges a pet fee per night instead of per stay, which can add up. 

Are Dogs Allowed In Mesa Verde National Park?

• Never leave your pets in the car unattended. 
• Take turns watching your pet and checking out the cliff dwelling overlook if there are two of you. The Cliff Palace overlook, for example, is not far from the parking lot, so one of you can watch your pet while the other snap a quick photo of the Cliff Palace. A few overlooks along the Cliff Palace loop are just a few steps away from the parking space. 
• Take turns doing each Mesa Verde tour by allowing ample time between switching. 
• Walk the Long House Loop with your pets. The loop is 5-mile long, but you don’t have to do it all. The path is well paved, and some archaeological sites, including the Long House overlook, are where you can enjoy the views with your pets.
• There are also dog kennels near Mesa Verde if you are comfortable. 
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Group Guided Tours

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Looking to make Mesa Verde tour reservations? Come take a look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo peoples who made it their home for over 700 years. From 600 A.D to 1300 they made Mesa Verde their home .  Explore some of the most notable and best preserved the cliff dwelling ruins in the United States that are more than 800 years old.  Mesa Verde protects over 5,000 archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings and the famous Cliff Palace with over 80 square miles of area.

This is a trip of a lifetime for all ages. Any of our  Mesa Verde tours  can be combined with our water adventures, Zip Line Tours or Train ride .  Ticket includes, Lunch, Park Fees and Cliff Palace guided ranger tickets(when in season) and a Personal Guided Tour.

© 2024 Mesa Verde Tours | Tour Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.

• About Mesa Verde

© 2018 | All rights reserved by Mesa Verde Tours

• Plan Your Visit
• Guided Tours
• Things To Do

Cliff Palace

Mesa Verde National Park Tours

Tours begin Monday, May 6. All reservations are available 14 days in advance at 8:00 am MDT. The tour starts 75 minutes from the park entrance at the Cliff Palace Overlook, near the Cliff Palace parking lot.

Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. Built between 1190 and 1280 CE, Cliff Palace was once home to over 100 people.Today, it stands as a testament to the engineering and artistic achievements of the Ancestral Pueblo people. Visit the park website for a virtual tour of Cliff Palace .

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If you plan on reserving a second tour on the same day, give yourself a minimum of 2 hours between the time you book this Cliff Palace tour and a Balcony House tour (e.g., an 11:00 am Cliff Palace tour requires a 1:00 pm or later Balcony House tour).

Select a date to see a list of times

Need to Know

On this 45-minute ranger-led tour , you will descend uneven stone steps and climb four ladders, with an elevation change of 100 feet (30 m). Total walking distance is 1/4 mile (0.4 km). This video shows tour details and challenges.

From the park entrance, drive 20 miles (32.2 km) to the all-way stop on Chapin Mesa. Turn left. Drive 0.4 miles (0.6 km) and turn left onto the Cliff Palace Loop. Drive 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to the Cliff Palace parking lot.

To make sure you arrive on time, allow 75 minutes to drive to Cliff Palace from the park entrance. Meet the ranger at the Cliff Palace Overlook. You MUST arrive 15 minutes early for a safety and logistics briefing.

Know your physical health and fitness before joining a Cliff Palace tour. Elevations range between 7,000 and 7,500 feet (2134 m and 2286 m) above sea level. Plan for all weather possibilities because conditions can vary.

Wear sturdy hiking shoes or boots and bring a minimum of 1/4 gallon (1 liter) of water per person. Ancestral sites are vulnerable to damage caused by rodents attracted to food crumbs. Food, gum, and chewing tobacco are not permitted within the site during your tour.

There are no height or age restrictions for this tour, but children must be capable of climbing the ladders on their own. Infants must be placed in a carrier and the adults carrying them must be able to maintain mobility and balance while climbing ladders.

Cameras are welcome, but you must be able to carry all of your gear while keeping your hands free to climb the ladders. No tripods are allowed.

May 6 to May 11: 9:00 am, 9:30 am, 10:30 am, 11:00 am, and 2:30 pm. 

May 12 to October 22: 9:00 am to 11:30 am every ½ hour and 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm every ½ hour. 

October 23: Tours are closed for the 2024 season.

$8.00 per person, ages 3 and up. You MUST physically print your tour reservation at home OR download it to your phone to show the ranger before joining the tour. You will NOT be able to join the tour without a valid tour reservation presented. Late arrivals may result in forfeiting your tour. No refunds for late arrivals.

Tour is limited to 50 people 

All tours will be conducted as scheduled. However, any tour may be delayed or cancelled if lightning occurs near the tour location or for a park emergency. 

All tickets are NON-TRANSFERABLE AND NON-REFUNDABLE unless the tour is cancelled by the National Park Service.

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Mesa Verde Tours and Canyon of the Ancients

Tour ancient cliff dwellings with us.

Explore some of the most notable and best-preserved cliff dwellings and archaeological sites in the United States from Durango, CO.

• Hour Glass 6 Hours
• Users Recommended for ages 8+

Group Mesa Verde Tour from Durango

Spend 1 hour longer in the park with an optional lunch add-on, all while letting our experienced guides take you back through history on this walk-through time tour so you can just sit back and enjoy the amazing things that Mesa Verde National Park has to offer.

• Hour Glass 7.5 Hours , Lunch Provided

Private Tour of Mesa Verde

Enjoy an intimate experience of Mesa Verde with just your group when you book this private tour! We can customize your itinerary and all of our guides are archeologist trained.

• Hour Glass 5 Hours

Mesa Verde Express Tour With Tickets To Cliff Palace

Discover Mesa Verde with an Archaeologist Trained Guide and go into Cliff Palace.

• Hour Glass 7.5 Hours

Canyons of the Ancients

Follow our knowledgeable guides while they lead you around the Four Corners area to multiple heritage sites.

Tour Mesa Verde Year-Round

Come take a look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo peoples who made this part of the United States their home for over 700 years, from 600 A.D to 1300. Explore some of the most notable and best-preserved cliff-dwelling ruins in the United States on a Mesa Verde or Canyon of the Ancients tour.

Mesa Verde National Park encompasses over 80 square miles and protects over 5,000 archaeological sites, including the famous Cliff Palace and nearly 600 cliff dwellings, some of which are more than 800 years old. This is the trip of a lifetime for all ages.

Any of our Mesa Verde tours can be combined with our water adventures for an amazing multi-day experience. Check out our other offerings to combine your adventures.

Our tours include a personal archeologist-trained tour guide, lunch/snacks and water, park entrance fees, and transportation to and from the National Park.  Gratuity for the guide is not included.

Please call 970-259-0289 to speak to a reservationist to get up-to-the-minute updates on all of our tours. Updates are constantly happening in the National Park, for example, road conditions/construction, site closures, and the weather just to name a few. If you are interested in a tour then call our team and we can let you know the current updates.

Why A Guided Tour?

Let our experienced archeologist-trained tour guides take you back through history on this amazing Mesa Verde or Canyon of the Ancients. We take care of all the details so you can just sit back and enjoy this unforgettable experience.

Don’t miss out on any of the amazing things that the Four Corners have to offer. With our guided tour, you will explore ancient ruins and breathtaking views without the hassle of trying to plan everything yourself.

Save time, gas, and entrance fees, and go straight to the sites with our guided tours. All of our vehicles are comfortable with air conditioning for those hot summer months and cozy heat in the winter months. We are here to provide you with the best Mesa Verde and Canyon of the Ancients experience .

This is the trip of a lifetime for all ages. Our Mesa Verde tours can also be combined with our water or 4X4 adventures. The tours include park fees and a personal guided tour of the park. If you would like more information about Mesa Verde National Park call 970-259-0289.

*Please note: Our group-guided tour requires at least two guests to depart. If the tour does not have at least two guests on the tour we would contact you and recommend an alternative tour option. *Gratuity is not included*