5 Tips for Visiting Mesa Verde National Park

One of the coolest national parks we went to on our road trip was definitely Mesa Verde! I don’t know if you remember learning about adobe homes in high school but seeing them in person is a million times better. I was beyond captivated and wanted to see them all! Like how did they build these homes in the side of a canyon?!

Fascinating. That’s all I have to say. But I will say we did not do ANY research before going to this park and I wish we would have! So I hope you read this before you go visit and make sure the check out these 5 tips before you arrive:

Book the tours!

Holy cow you guys this park has THE most amazing tours. You can actually hike down into the adobe houses on the side of the mountain with a tour guide. It is phenomenal and 100% worth the extra cost.

We tried to do this trip very cheaply and one way we did that was by purchasing the America the Beautiful pass. This was extra and not covered by that but I’d do it a million times over again! But make sure to check when tours are available because they do close during cold seasons!

Plan extra time to explore

One thing about this park is that every lookout has something worth stopping for. I definitely do not say that about all national parks and actually recommend skipping many stops at other parks.

Also, some of the adobe huts are a little bit of a walk from the place where you park so that is another reason you want to schedule extra time! It usually isn’t more than .5 miles but that does add up when you stop at them all.

Bring lots of water & snacks

You are literally walking through the desert in Mesa Verde. Make sure you bring food and water because so many people get dehydrated here! We saw signs everywhere and spoke with some park rangers about this issue.

Many southern parks on the west have high rates of dehydration like The Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Zion to name a few. So make sure to be prepared so that you can fully enjoy your time!

Bring a good camera / zoom lens

This is important at every National Park but beyond important at Mesa Verde. There are many amazing adobe structures but they might be across the canyon from you or at strange angles with weird lighting. Having a nice camera with a good zoom is crucial to truly capturing the beauty!

Also, the views here are just phenomenal! I promise you will want to capture your whole trip.

Check the weather!

This should be obvious and yet we did not check the weather because we assumed it was the time of year it would nice lol. Turns out it was smoky and HOT! I was not dressed properly and was sweaty and gross.

I’ve also heard while it doesn’t really snow, it gets very cold in the winter despite being considered desert! Make sure to check out the website for the seasonal guide!