Land of Liberty Explorers

Winter at Mesa Verde National Park

During the winter season, Mesa Verde scales back operations. The main visitors center and park store remain open along with Mesa Top Loop Road. The Spruce Tree House overlook is also open to visitors. Weatherill Mesa is closed. The Cliff Palace Loop Road is closed to cars, but open for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. No cliff dwelling tours are offered in the winter. Despite the closures, we had a great day of exploring and saw many fantastic sights!

*Mesa Verde National Park sits at an elevation over 7,000 feet, so snow and severe winter conditions are always possible. Check the park’s website and Facebook pages for information about current conditions before visiting.

Park History

In 1888, Richard Weatherill and Charlie Mason found and named the Cliff Palace ruins. The Weatherill family began exploring the ruins and collecting artifacts. They invited Swedish explorer Gustaf Nordenskiöld to investigate the ruins. He wrote a publication about the site and put together a collection of artifacts that he shipped back to Sweden. His collection ended up in the national museum of Finland where it remains one of the largest collections of Native American artifacts outside the United States. Soon other “curio seekers” were camping at the site and removing artifacts. The need for federal protection of the site was apparent.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw creation of the national park. It was named Mesa Verde, or green table, because of the forests of juniper and piñon trees stretching over the mesa. Between 1908 and 1922, Jesse Walter Fewkes led efforts to stabilize the ruins of Cliff Palace, Spruce Tree House, and the Sun Temple. During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps participated in excavations and built trails and park buildings. In 1978, Mesa Verde was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. More recently, in 2012, the park opened the beautiful Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center which also houses Ancient Puebloan artifacts and art.

Liberty at the Visitors and Research Center

Native American History

While the park is known for its impressive cliff dwellings, the site was inhabited by Native Americans for centuries before the cliff dwellings were built, and ruins and remnants from their societies remain in the park as well. It is believed that nomadic tribes visited the area as early at 9500 BC. A year round population may have taken up residence as early as 7500 BC. By 1000 BC, the population was growing corn and living in permanent pit houses. Mesa Verde’s inhabitants started constructing pueblos around 650 AD. While the Puebloans probably interacted with the Puebloans who lived in Chaco Canyon’s Great Houses, they retained their distinct culture and traditions.

Painting depicting life at Mesa Verde inside the Visitors Center

Sometime in the late 1100s, the Puebloans began moving their homes into the cliffs on the side of the mesa. Building in the cliffs gave them protection against potential enemies as well as put them closer to the water that seeps through the rock walls of the mesa. Ancient Puebloans occupied Cliff Palace from 1190 to 1260. While no one knows for sure why the impressive cliff dwellings were abandoned, historians and anthropologists speculate that droughts, overhunting, or warfare contributed. The inhabitants likely moved to Arizona or New Mexico.

Mesa Top Loop Road

Before visiting the park, be sure to download the park’s fantastic audio tour! The free download is available by clicking here. Park Ranger T.J. Atsye narrates the tour. She is a member of the Laguna Pueblo. Ms. Atsye’s passion for this park as well as her reverence for her ancestors is evident as she guides visitors around the 11 sites along the loop road. Foundations of pit houses constructed around 600 AD can be viewed at the first stop along the loop.

One of our favorite stops was Square Tower House. A short path from the parking area leads to an overlook. We liked the uniqueness of the three story tower at this site – the tallest structure in the park. This site also features an intact kiva.

Sun Temple was another of our favorite spots. Archeologists aren’t sure what the Sun Temple’s purpose was, or even if its construction was completed, because there were no roof beams or household goods found at the site. Modern Pueblo People believe it was a ceremonial site. We enjoyed exploring and thinking about how it may have been used.

One of the last stops on the self guided tour of Mesa Top Loop Road is a remarkable view of Cliff Palace – believed to be the largest cliff dwelling built in all of North America. Cliff Palace has over 150 rooms and 23 kivas. About 100 people lived in Cliff Palace. We plan to visit Mesa Verde again in the summer time, so we can tour this amazing dwelling!

Spruce Tree House Overlook

After touring Mesa Top Loop Road, we made a quick stop at the Spruce Tree House Overlook. It is Mesa Verde’s third largest cliff dwelling and also the best preserved. Thanks to the solid alcove over the structure, about 90% of the remaining structure is original. It was constructed between 1211 and 1278 and contains 130 rooms and eight kivas. We enjoyed sitting on the cliffside and visually exploring all of this site’s features. We look forward to touring this dwelling on a summer time visit to Mesa Verde!

Traveling with a Dog

Our dog, Liberty, joined us on our winter visit to Mesa Verde. The park welcomes dogs, but restricts where dogs are allowed. Dogs are allowed on any paved road or paved trail – including the stops along Mesa Top Loop Road, but dogs are not allowed inside buildings or ruins. Check the park’s pet policy before visiting with your dog.

Food and Lodging

We stayed at this cute AirBnB in Dolores, Colorado. It is right on the Dolores River and close to the highway. Before heading to the park, we stopped at Loop’s Coffee for breakfast burritos, featuring Colorado green chilis, and a hot cup of coffee. We liked Dolores, but nearby Cortez and Mancos also have nice lodging and vacation rental options.

Additional Tips and Considerations

While the self-guided tour of Mesa Top Loop Road is only about 6 miles, it begins several miles from the Visitors Center, so be prepared for a lengthy drive. Warning – follow posted park speed limit signs. Rangers strictly enforce the speed limit and will ticket vehicles that exceed the speed limits.

We hope you enjoyed this post about visiting Mesa Verde National Park during the winter season. If you are interested in visiting Native American sites, Canyon of the Ancients and Hovenweep National Monument are near Mesa Verde. Also our posts about Bandelier National Monument, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, or Petroglyph National Monument may be of interest.