There are plenty of ways to explore the Mesa Verde National Park along with numerous tours to choose from.  You might choose one of the popular ranger-guided tours or you might want to explore at your own pace.  Check out all the different options.

Ranger Guided Tours

The Mesa Verde National Park offers numerous ranger guided tours.  The Chapin Mesa tours include Cliff Palace, Balcony House, Spruce Tree House and A Twilight Tour of Cliff Palace and one Wetherhill Mesa tour, Long House. Tickets for guided-tours must be purchased in person at the Far View Visitor Center, Morefield Ranger Station, Colorado Welcome Center, Cortez and Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum. Check the hours and open dates of each at the Mesa Verde National Park Website.

Tickets for Cliff Palace, Balcony House, or Long House are $3.00 per person per ranger-guided tour.  Twilight Tour of Cliff Palace (Memorial Day thru Labor Day) is $10.00 per person.

Cliff Palace: Mesa Verde’s Largest Cliff Dwelling. This one-hour, ranger-guided tour involves climbing five, 8-10ft ladders, on a 100ft vertical climb. Total walking distance is about 1/4-mile, round-trip. The tour begins at Cliff Palace Overlook, an 8-mile, 20-minute drive from the Visitor Center.

Balcony House: Adventurous Cliff Dwelling Tour. This one-hour, ranger-guided tour involves climbing a 32 ft. ladder, crawling through a 12ft.-long tunnel, and climbing up a 60ft open rock face with two 10ft ladders to exit the site. The tour begins at the Balcony House parking area, a 10-mile, 25-minute drive from the Visitor Center.

Spruce Tree House: Best-Preserved Cliff Dwelling (Early November to March). This cliff dwelling is open year-round, however during the winter months, it is available by free, ranger-guided tour only. This one-hour tour involves a 100ft descent and ascent on a winding path. Walking distance is 1/2-mile round trip. Tours begin at the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum.  During the spring, summer, and fall (early March to early November), Spruce Tree House is available on a self-guided basis.

Twilight Tours in Cliff Palace: Join historical figures from Mesa Verde's past for a 90-minute tour of the park's most popular cliff dwelling, Cliff Palace. These characters, locked in their own time period, will give a fascinating perspective of their Mesa Verde experience. (Memorial Day - Labor Day)
                •Nightly at 7:00 pm
                •Tour is limited to 20 people
                •$10.00 per person (Tickets sold ONLY at the Far View Visitor Center)

Long House: Mesa Verde’s Most In-Depth Tour. Starting with a tram ride to and from the trailhead, this 90-minute, ranger-guided tour involves climbing two 15ft ladders within the site. The round trip hike is 3/4 mile, with a 130ft gain in elevation upon exiting. Tour begins at the Wetherill Mesa information kiosk, a 12-mile drive from the Visitor Center. Allow 45 minutes for this drive. Vehicles over 25-feet long are prohibited on this road. (Memorial Day - Labor Day)

Half-Day Guided Bus Tours from Aramark:

•700 Years Tour This tour will provide you with an overall historical view of the Ancestral Puebloans and their lives here.  You will be taken on a chronological journey starting with the earliest villages in 600 A.D. to the classic Pueblo era of the cliff dwellings dated from the 13th century.  The 700 years tour will also take you through Cliff Palace, the largest and most popular of the cliff dwellings.  The dates of operation for the 700 Years Tour are mid-April through mid-October. 

•Classic Pueblo Tour On the Classic Pueblo Tour you will explore Mesa Verde and learn how the native Puebloan people lived here for seven centuries. You will visit the sites of Triple Cities, Square Tower Overlook, Sun Point, Sun Temple and Cliff Palace.  This is an afternoon guided tour that is available mid-April through mid-October. 

•Far View Explorer Tour The Far View Explorer Tour is a driver-guided tour that will take you to the Far View archaeological sites, which spans from the Far View Lodge to the archaeological museum to the Spruce Tree House in the Chapin Mesa area. Guests will enjoy overlooks along the Mesa Top loop before returning to Morefield Campground.  This trip is available mid-May through September.

Self-Guided Tours

Self-Guided Tours at Mesa Verde are also available.  You can explore at your own speed and only visit the things you really want to see.  Chapin Mesa self-guided tours include Spruce Tree House, Mesa Top Loop Road, Far View Sites Complex and Cedar Tree Tower.  The Wetherill Mesa tours include Step House and Badger House Trail which are only open Memorial Day through Labor Day.  The following Self-Guided tours are available. 

Spruce Tree House**: Best-Preserved Cliff Dwelling (Early March to early November) A 100ft descent and ascent on a winding path. Total walking distance is 1/2-mile round trip. Allow 45 minutes to one hour. Trail begins at the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum. Rangers are on-site to answer questions.  During the winter months (early November to early March), Spruce Tree House is available by ranger-guided tour only.

Mesa Top Load Road: This is an Auto Tour - 700 Years of Mesa Verde History.  A 6-mile driving tour with short, paved trails. Twelve easily-accessible sites, including surface dwellings and cliff dwelling overlooks. Highlights include Sun Point Overlook, Square Tower House, and views of Cliff Palace from Sun Point and Sun Temple stops. Overlooks also found on the 6-mile Cliff Palace Loop Road. Open 8:00 a.m. to sunset.

Far View Sites Complex: Five Mesa Top Villages & Far View Reservoir.  Far View House plus four other villages and a dry reservoir on a level 3/4-mile unpaved trail. Four miles north of the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum. Open 8:00 a.m. to sunset.

Cedar Tree Tower: Mesa Top Tower and Kiva.  Ancestral Puebloan tower and kiva complex can be viewed from the road. Open 8:00 a.m. to sunset.

Step House: Pithouse, Petroglyphs and Cliff Dwelling. A 100ft descent and ascent on a winding path. Total walking distance, 3/4-mile round-trip. Allow 45 minutes to one hour. Trail begins near the Wetherill Mesa kiosk.

Badger House Trail: Trail to Four Mesa Top Sites. The 2.5 mile trail to Badger House Community surface sites begins at Wetherill Mesa Kiosk. Combination gravel and paved trail. If you prefer, take the tram to or from the Badger House tram stop and shorten the trail to 1.5 miles.