Moab is located on the Eastern side of Utah, about fifty miles from the Colorado border. Due to its close proximity, we decided to add Mesa Verde National Park to our stay in Utah. Mesa Verde is in the Southwest corner of Colorado, about a two hour and forty-five-minute drive from Moab.
Mesa Verde was home to Ancient Puebloans and consists of over 4,700 archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. The Puebloans originally built small houses on top of the vast mesa, where they farmed and hunted. However, over the years they began building homes in alcoves beneath the rim of the mesa. Cliff Palace is the largest and most famous cliff dwelling in the park, consisting of 150 different rooms.
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| Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park |
Almost all of the dwellings in Mesa Verde require a ranger-guided tour to enter. John and I toured the Cliff Palace, which cost $3 and lasted about an hour. It was fascinating walking among these ancient structures, thinking about the lives of the people who called them home so many years ago. This park is filled with such history, it really is an incredible experience. The Spruce Tree House is one of dwellings you can go on your own and came highly recommended to us; however, it has been closed indefinitely due to previous and potential rock falls. The only problem (we found) with visiting these dwellings is the actual navigation of them. They are quite literally on the side of a cliff, and require maneuvering up and down wooden ladders, while trying not look down the 7,000 feet below. Neither John nor I are too keen on heights, so we kept cliff tours to a minimum.
Although the history found in this park is remarkable, our favorite part of Mesa Verde was the Spruce Canyon Trail. It is a 3.1-mile hike descending around an down into the canyon and then back out. The views of the canyon were gorgeous and it was great way to see the park from another perspective.
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| Spruce Canyon Trail |
Check out this
website if you are interested in learning more about the history of Mesa Verde National Park!
National Park Ratings
1. Arches National Park
2. Canyonlands National Park
3. Shenandoah Valley National Park
4. Mesa Verde National Park
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