It was raining in Moab and flash flood warnings were keeping me from hiking in the national parks. As I was trying to figure out how to spend my day, my dad reminded me that Mesa Verde National Park wasn’t far away. The weather looked slightly better in that direction, and I was excited to cross into Colorado which was a state I left off the itinerary. Due to construction and preservation efforts the Cliff Palace was closed, however I was able to get a reservation for a tour of the Long House. The Long House is in the far southwest area of the park, an area I hadn’t been to before. It is the second largest cliff dwelling and a taxing two and a quarter mile hike to get down to it and then the hike up out of the canyon. The tour times help to manage crowds as you hike down as a group and then rangers are stationed around the cliff dwelling to answer questions. The Long House consisted of 150 rooms, 21 kivas, and an upper row of storage rooms. It is estimated that 150 to 175 people lived there together with spacious gathering areas in the front with benches that served as the marketplace/town square.
I spent the rest of the morning hiking the five mile Long House loop trail, which is a flat paved trail that provides views across the canyon back to the cliff dwelling as well as other cliff dwellings.
The high plains were settled by the Ancestral Pueblo people over 1,400 years ago. You can see the progression of how they lived, starting with pit home dug into the ground, to villages, and then eventually building and moving into the cliff dwellings. I was surprised to learn how many were in the area, Mesa Verde National Park protects over 600 cliff dwellings that were occupied between 1190 to 1270. The Ancestral Pueblo people eventually moved out of the area due to drought conditions impacting farming. Pictured below is the Kodak House and the Square Tower House.
Driving around the park was just as enjoyable with some amazing views of the valley and desert landscape.
While the site was closed to visitors it was possible to see the Cliff Palace from across the canyon. It is the largest cliff dwelling in North America.
A fun stop between Moab and Mesa Verde is Hole n’ the Rock. A 5,000 square foot home that was carved into the rock. It was a place I visited as a kid which made it a neat stop along the way.
