Very nice staff. Both the museum and walking the path around the ruins were a lot of fun for the…read morekiddo. Very informative exhibits in the museum.

July 24th, 2026 While on a roadtrip with my family I stopped…read moreby at the ruins. When we arrived, we were greeted by an older man who seems to be a volunteer, and when my young teenager daughter who loved collecting junior rangers badges asked about the program put her down while being extremely rude telling her "you wont be able to finish in time and if you don't finish I wont give you a badge". However this man wasn't even a ranger and did not have the authority to give badges. The volunteer continued to be rude to the rest of my family telling us that we had to view the monument quickly because they would close exactly at 5. He caused our whole family to be panicked. When we quickly speed through the junior rangers program and returned to the visitor center and told the man that we finished. He then rudely told us to wait for a ranger to give us our badge. The ranger who gave my daughter her badge was very welcoming and kind, helping to make the visit end on a somewhat good note. As someone who visits national parks and monuments often, I hope to never encounter someone like this working in the visitor center greeting guests.

Wow, Cliff Palace completely blew my mind. I was amazed at the dwellings we saw, how well preserved…read morethey were, and our guide gave us so much information throughout the tour. You need to book a tour in order to get close to the dwellings at Mesa Verde. Otherwise you can only see them from the overlooks. I would definitely recommend a tour as it's impossible to get a feel for the dwellings without actually being in them. We had a short walk down to Cliff Palace and there were a few ladders to climb, but overall the tour was not strenuous and my out of shape 50+ year old self didn't have any difficulty. I would recommend a morning tour to beat the heat. We also toured Balcony House, and if I had to choose just one, I'm not sure which one I would pick. Be sure to book early on the National Parks website and don't miss an up close tour of a dwelling when you visit Mesa Verde.

Seeing cliff palace was actually SUCH an amazing experience. It is the biggest of the cave…read moredwellings in Mesa Verde national park. We had a tour scheduled, but they had to cancel it due to public health concern. While it was a bummer to miss our tour, I was happy to know that the park is in good hands of people who are concerned for public health. Every ranger we talked to was amazing. It was still incredible to just see it from the viewpoints. It's awesome to see how people lived hundreds of years ago. I would highly recommend checking it out. The clouds were gorgeous the day we went and it was just really magical!

There are so many structures standing here! The loop hike was well marked, with the first portion…read more(going counterclockwise) taking you past the structures along the rim of the canyon, and the second portion descending and ascending the canyon back to the visitor center. I liked how you could get up close to the structures and see them in detail - no entering or touching though! Some were build right on the edge. I wonder how they manage to design them and maintain them on such a precarious position. The visitor center has helpful NPS rangers and a small gift shop. There are some displays, but the best part is to go out and explore! The bathrooms are also nice with running water.

We arrived at the end of the day on Sunday. The Ranger recommended the circle hike but directed us…read moreto go to the south first. Great hike and ruins are amazing!

Simply amazing. I would stop by the visitor center and museum first before exploring the pueblos…read moreand other locations that make up this national monument. The visitor center and museum have a lot of artifacts and information about how scientists research the artifacts and structures of the Pueblo peoples. It helps put into context the other sites that are part of this national monument. It kind of made me feel like an archaeologist when I identified some potsherds later on my hikes and could identify which Pueblo Era they came from. Definitely worth a stop!

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and Visitor Center are a worthwhile destination or a…read moreshort diversion, if you are in SW Colorado. Inside, there are educational movies about the history of the Puebloan Indians who inhabited the plains 1200 years ago, and then suddenly left about 1300. There are numerous exhibits about these people, their tools, their cooking implements, their arrow heads, basketry, housing, etc. It is well laid out and then there are descriptions of several deserted Pueblos within an hour or two of the visitor center. Your national park pass will get you entrance, or a small fee if you don't have one. With the Federal workforce cuts, staffing is minimal, so be patient and respect the work these Rangers do for us every day. Wish I had visited this site before I went to Mesa Verde National Park last year as it added an additional perspective to the way some of our SW native Indians lived.

This breathtaking geological feature is a "saddle" bewtween Telluride and Ridgway Colroado. A…read morerelatively gentle grade across the shoulder of some the mightiest mountains in the continental USA. From this vantage point, you'll see Dallas peak, Last Dollar mountain and majestic views of often snow capped briliance. Fall is the best time, with virbrant colors sweeping accross the endless vistas.

A landmark and solid stop along any journey through SoCo. Worthy of a detour if you're in the area.read more

I get so tired of reviews on our country's national treasures and history like this I have to give…read morea resounding 5 stars. NOTE drive to top is not hard. If you have ever been to mountains or skied it's easy. It's a gravel mountain road. To clarify as I was confused there is a parking lot w small visitor center aka cabin. This is where you pay your fee. They are building a new super nice visitor center to open next year. The ranger here at base was so nice. I mean amazingly and went out of her way to explain all. From the first parking area you drive to the upper parking lot which is the base from which you hike to top. I was fine at 62 and not in perfect shape to get to top. It's a gorgeous view and the ranger/helper? at top was wordy but very knowledgeable. Now that we live in Albuquerque will definitely go back as it's a short drive under 30 minutes from Pagosa springs. Final thought those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it

Our mission was to finally visit Four Corners Monument, and it did not disappoint. It was so cool…read moreto join with others who have a shared desire to visit 4 states at once: Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. It wasn't extremely busy when we visited, but it was overcast and very windy. We stood in a short line to have our photos taken at the iconic point. Everyone was super friendly and was helping families take photos. They have vendors situated around the outskirts, and they sell some pretty amazing stuff! I was super excited to buy a painting, painted on a rock, some horse hair pottery and a pretty silver ring! Admission is $10/person, no cash accepted, which honestly feels a little steep, but everything is pricey these days. Happy to be able to check this one off our bucket list!

**July 2026: Tuesday Early Afternoon Visit**…read more My friend and I planned this road trip specifically to visit the Four Corners Monument, since I'm working on visiting all 50 states and wanted to check off Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona all at once. Genuinely, I just really wanted the novelty of standing in four states at the same time. :) The monument is located on Native tribal land, and getting there felt like part of the experience. It was about a four hour drive from Flagstaff, and honestly, there really wasn't much along the way until you reach the site. The entrance fee was $10 per person/per vehicle, and the parking is just dirt lot. There's also a porta potty on site. The monument itself is simple but iconic, with the names of the four states marked on plaques on the ground and their respective flags on poles around it. Surrounding the area were a number of booths run by Native American vendors selling souvenirs. They had everything from handmade pottery, necklaces, magnets, as well as factory-made tshirts, and more. Most vendors accepted cash, though a few also took Venmo or Zelle. You probably only need about 20 minutes here for your photoshoot and shopping experience, thought when we visited there was about a 10 minute wait to get a photo at the monument itself (at around 1pm). It's definitely more of a quick stop than a long destination, but I'm glad I checked it off my list. I probably wouldn't go again, but it was worth visiting once for the experience.

Yucca House National Monument is a...rough diamond in the rough? It's located next to someone's…read morehouse, and you have to drive through a field of cows to get there. There's a dilapidated boardwalk that you can walk on to get to the gate of the national monument and sign in at the guestbook. The vibe the NPS was going for was to showcase how a large unexcavated pueblo looks like. At first I wasn't impressed, but thinking more about it, it makes you feel like an adventurer. Like, how did the scientists discover and excavate all of these artifacts? They looked around and saw bits of uncovered brick of pueblos and depressions in the ground for kivas. You can even find potsherds here too. Don't take anything though. I wish that they were offering ranger tours of this place - it only happens about twice a year and I wasn't lucky enough to visit when they were. I think it would help a lot about the context of this place. The government is planning on improving this monument with a real parking lot and restrooms, although it make take a while. Hopefully it includes more informational signs as the brochures present are a little sparse.

I'm a big fan of the National Park System and generally like the sites that are part of it. I have…read moreto say though, it felt like they really phoned it in with regards to Yucca House NM. To get there, you drive on dirt roads in an agricultural area. When you arrive at Yucca House NM, it looks and feels like you are pulling up to some random guy's house. In his front yard is a boardwalk leading you to a gate that goes into the NM. Once inside the fence, there are paths to explore the NM. The first structure you'll notice is the lower house. It's the most complete structure in the NM that I saw. I walked around a bit and saw the kivas, which were pits in the ground maybe 12 feet across. That's about it though. The entire site is overgrown with weeds and brush. The idea is to see what an archaeological site looks like when it is first discovered. In that, Yucca House succeeds. But it's a small site and the level of disrepair makes it only worth spending a few minutes there. There is no NPS infrastructure - no visitors center, no bathrooms, no map, not even parking. It's also smaller than any other NPS site I'm familiar with (except ones in cities). I'm glad I went, but I wouldn't go back. The lack of infrastructure and poor level of maintenance are surprising for an NPS site. For those of you who have read this far, you can get the national park passport stamp for Yucca House at the Mesa Verde visitor center by US 160.