Mesa Verde National Park joined with its partner, the nonprofit Mesa Verde Institute, to provide visitors with new opportunities and experiences in the park this season. These four ranger-guided hikes include a two-hour hike to Oak Tree House/Fire Temple, a two-hour hike to Square Tower House, a day-long hike to Spring House, and a two-hour hike at Yucca House National Monument.
We are very excited to present these new visitor experiences in the park. We hope this opportunity is well received by our neighbors and park visitors, Mesa Verde Superintendent Cliff Spencer said in a prepared statement from the park. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Mesa Verde National Park.
Details of the hikes follow:
Oak Tree House and Fire Temple is a moderately strenuous two-hour, 1-mile round-trip hike, along an unpaved, uneven, narrow trail with exposed cliff edges and a 15-foot ladder. Tours of these two cliff dwellings begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, May 29 through Sept. 5. Meet the ranger at Sun Temple on the Mesa Top Loop Road at 7:45 a.m. Tour is limited to 10 hikers. Ticket price is $20.
Square Tower House is a strenuous two-hour, 1-mile round-trip hike, along an unpaved, uneven, narrow trail with exposed cliff edges, and includes scrambling down rocky slopes and climbing three ladders (one that is 20 feet) to enter a cliff dwelling. Tour begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Sept. 1 through Oct. 15. Meet the ranger at the Square Tower House overlook on the Mesa Top Loop Road at 7:45 a.m. Tour is limited to 10 hikers. Ticket price is $20.
Spring House is a very strenuous eight-hour, 8-mile round-trip hike, along an unpaved, uneven trail with an elevation change of 1,500 feet and includes steep drop-offs and switchbacks. In addition to a view of Spring House cliff dwelling, hikers will have views of Buzzard House, Teakettle House, Daniels House and other archaeological sites perched in the sandstone recesses of Navajo and Wickiup canyons. Binoculars are highly recommended for cross-canyon views of multiple cliff dwellings. Bring lunch and water. Tour begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, Sept. 1 through Oct. 15. Meet the ranger at the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum at 7:45 a.m. Tour is limited to 10 people. Ticket price is $40.
Yucca House is an easy to moderate 0.5-mile, one-hour hike. Experience a sense of discovery by visiting this sprawling, unexcavated Ancestral Puebloan site that has remained largely untouched for the past 800 years. Meet a park archaeologist at 4:30 p.m. at the Colorado Welcome Center in Cortez on April 20, May 18, Aug. 17 and Sept. 21 to carpool to the site. There is no charge for this special tour, but advance registration is required. Tour is limited to 15 people.
Tickets for all of these special hikes are limited and must be purchased online atwww.mesaverdeinstitute.org.
For more information on Mesa Verde National Park, visit www.nps.gov/meve.
