The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals. Sign up today!
The National Park Service turns 100 this year—and we’re celebrating by packing up our cars and zooming 370 miles southwest to Mesa Verde National Park (one of Colorado’s four national parks). The captivating 52,000-acre site is home to 600 cliffside abodes that were inhabited by the Ancestral Pueblo people more than 700 years ago. Adventurous explorers will want to sign up for the one-hour, ranger-guided Balcony House cliff dwelling tour, which involves crawling through a tunnel, scrambling up steep cliffs, and climbing ladders to view the location’s 40 well-preserved rooms and two courtyards. If you want to expand your visit into a long weekend but aren’t in the mood to camp (Morefield Campground has 267 sites to choose from and easy access to some great hiking), book a room at the recently spruced-up Far View Lodge, the only accommodation inside the park.
