Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde is the largest archaeological preserve in North America and the first national park ever created specifically to protect and preserve works of humankind. A United Nations World Heritage Site, the park is best known for its dramatic cliff dwellings and ancient rock art panels.

Mesa Verde, (Spanish for "Green Table"), was populated from approximately 600 AD-1300 AD with a group of people whom archaeologists refer to as Ancestral Puebloans. These people built elaborate stone villages in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls, now called cliff dwellings. Conservative estimates show that between 30,000-40,000 people inhabited the area in 1100, but by the late 1200s, within the span of one or two generations, the inhabitants of Mesa Verde left their homes and moved away from the area.

Today, a series of ladders, stairways and paved hiking trails permits Park visitors a closer look at these heritage sites. Two of the most impressive sites include Cliff Palace, which has more than 100 rooms occupying a deep, cave-like ledge beneath the canyon rim, and Balcony House, which is reachable by climbing a 32-foot ladder and crawling through a short tunnel.

Designated a national park in 1906, Mesa Verde celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2006. Starting in 2007 the park looks toward the next 100 years with a series of imaginative residential educational workshops offered by the Mesa Verde Institute. Topics will include photography, flint knapping, geology, ceramics of the ancients, sustainable cuisine, and other workshops relating to the Park's art, culture and heritage. In addition, the popular lecture series will be offered throughout the season, with native dancers,
artisans and craft demonstrations.

The best way to experience Mesa Verde is to spend at least two days there, including a stay at the only accommodation within the Park-Far View Lodge. Originally built in the 1960s as an old -fashioned "motor lodge," Far View Lodge now claims a critically acclaimed restaurant and many newly renovated and redecorated "Kiva" rooms with king beds, authentic art and Southwestern furnishings. Not only do guests enjoy convenient access to daily interpretive tours departing from the lodge area, but each of the Far View's 150 rooms boasts a private balcony, some with views of up to 100 miles across three states.

Far View guests can also sample the award winning Southwestern cuisine of The Metate Room restaurant, which features many sustainable and organic specialties. In addition, guests can shop for fine Southwestern jewelry, art and handcrafts from many of the genre's foremost artists who display and sell their works at the Far View Lodge and Far View Terrace gift shops.

For those who prefer camping, Mesa Verde's Morefield Campground, which is located in a large wooded area 4.5 miles from the Park entrance, has 435 sites on loop roads in a high canyon. Amenities include a café, a gas station, hot showers, a coin-operated laundry and a grocery store, as well as access to food, supplies and firewood. Single and group sites include a barbecue grill, picnic table and benches. Fifteen RV hook-ups are also available on a first-come first-served basis.

Mesa Verde National Park is open year-round. Visitor accommodations are open mid-April through October. For more information, visit www.visitmesaverde.com