Colorado, Mesa Verde State Park Travel Guide

In Colorado, there is one place everyone must see while traveling and that's Mesa Verde State Park. In Spanish Mesa Verde means "green table." Travelers will experience a landscape and cultural setting like never before. During your time at Mesa Verde State Park, you will walk through 700 years of history. The dates are from A.D. 600 through A.D. 1300. It is a history worth visiting.

Travelers will learn how people built villages into the canyon walls and why in the 1200s they left their home and moved away. This is most definitely a piece of history everyone needs to know.

Mesa Verde preserves the archeological site. This gives a look into the past lives of Ancestral Pueblo people. In Mesa Verde, there are 24 Native American tribes with an ancestral affiliation.

For information on a great adventure through history, here is a Mesa Verde State Park travel guide full of adventure and beauty.

Mesa Verde State Park Travel Guide

Camping

Moorefield campground surrounds itself with native flowers, wild turkeys, Gambel Oak scrub in a high grass canyon situated on loop roads. There is a beauty to behold when entering this campground. Views of the valleys and mountains offer spectacular sights of the stars. Somehow, the stars here are more beautiful then anywhere else you can visit.

Moorefield campground has 435 sites with tables, benches and grills. There is plenty of room for tents, RV's and trailers so no matter how you choose to camp, there is room.

Once you have a good nights sleep wake up and enjoy a complimentary breakfast from the Moorefield full service village. It is an all you can eat pancake breakfast that will fill you up and have you ready for the sights of a lifetime.

Other amenities include, gas station, grocery store, RV dumping station, gift shop, coin operated laundry and showers.

This will be one of the best camping trips you will every experience for $20 a campsite per night. RV hookup is $25 per night and group sites are $55 per night. Rates can change without notice so check before arriving.

Trails

Take a hike through Spruce Canyon and Petroglyph trails. You must register before entering; there is a box at the beginning of the trail head.

Petroglyph Loop begins at Spruce Tree House and is 2.8 miles long. You will enjoy vies of the Navajo and Spruce canyons. The trail ends near the museum and gate access is open during the Spruce Tree House visiting hours.

Spruce Canyon Loop is a 2.1-mile round trip hike where you will experience canyon bottoms of Mesa Verde. Again, the gate is open during visiting hours to Spruce Tree House, so contact for information for times.

The Spruce Tree House trail is .5 miles and accessed near the museum and you will need a travel guide.

For a 1.5 mile round trip hike visit Soda Canyon overlook which begins at Cliff Palace Loop Road. From here, the walk will be easy and offers views of Balcony House and archeological sites within Soda Canyon.

The ¾-mile loop from Farming Terrace trail offers prehistoric check dams built by Ancestral Puebloans. Here you will find a wide array of plants, lizards and beautiful hummingbirds.

Cross Country Skiing

During the winter, Mesa Verde offers skiing and snowboarding. Sometimes there is no snow here but if you are one of the lucky ones to catch the snowfall you will enjoy the beauty.

Lodging

If you decide not to camp visitors can stay at Far View Lodge. Located at the high shoulder of Mesa Verde near the visitor center. Lodging is very simple and quiet and makes for a wonderful experience. Rooms have a private bath and balcony, refrigerator, coffee maker, 1 king or 2 queen beds and more.

Enjoy the southwest's cuisine served by the Metate Room. Fairview Terrace Food Court located a quarter mile away is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Sources:

Mesa Verde State Park Travel Guide, Mesa Verde Colorado