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.

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!

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.

Awesome place. This structure is protected under a metal canopy to prevent erosion and to allow…read moreguests to safely enter the structure. It may feel odd that the government allows people to enter without supervision, but I guess if you're that much of an enthusiast to drive out here, you know to respect the site and leave it as it is. It isn't well marked that you can enter the structure, but there are signs inside saying what to do in case of thunderstorms so it's clear you're supposed to enter. The great kiva nearby has signs to keep off. There are picnic tables right off the parking lot, and vault toilets.

Located in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, the Painted Hand Pueblo trail takes you…read moreto view a 13th-century Ancestral Puebloan guard tower. It's perched atop a mesa overlooking a scenic canyon. The trail starts out paved to some picnic tables, but you can't really see the tower unless you follow the unpaved path. It's well marked. There is an area where you have to go down some small rock shelves - if you have good balance you are fine, otherwise you might need to use your hands for some additional balance support.