Day Hiking Trails: Video of Mesa Verde NP’s Cliff Palace

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Video of Mesa Verde NP’s Cliff Palace

Among the largest cliff dwellings ever constructed hundreds of years ago by the Ancient Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, is Mesa Verde National Park’s Cliff Palace. It contains 150 rooms and 23 kivas constructed of sandstone, mortar and wooden beams.

The 0.25-mile round trip hike only can be done via a ranger-guided tour. Tickets typicaly must be purcahsed an hour ahead of the guided tour time.

Here’s a brief video showing the Cliff Palace:

Those seeking a longer hike also can explore six centuries of Anasazi village ruins, including a great kiva and a mysterious tunnel, on the nearby Badger House Community Trail.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Meet the Author

My name is Rob Bignell. I'm a long-time hiker, journalist and editor. My son Kieran and I have been hiking together for the past decade. Before Kieran, I taught middle school students in New Mexico and Wisconsin, served as an infantryman in the Army National Guard, and worked in newspapers. I've won several journalism awards, from editorial writing to sports reporting. In 2001, The Prescott Journal, which I served as managing editor of, was named Wisconsin’s Weekly Newspaper of the Year. Currently I own and operate an online editing business, Inventing Reality Editing Service. After spending several years in Southern California, my son and I now live in Wisconsin on the scenic Red Cedar River.