Long House — Attraction in Cortez

We visited Mesa Verde at the end of July and were very fortunate to book a ranger guided tour for Long House. Tours sell out quickly and it's best to book in the morning as soon as they become available. Currently (as of July 2022) the tour tickets are posted to recreation.gov at 8am MST 14 days ahead of time. Long house is stunning, and it's a very exciting experience to hike down to the 800 year old cliff dwelling. The tour was thought provoking and well timed. Parking for the tour is at Wetherill Mesa. Do be aware you must hike to the Long House trail head, about a 15 minute walk. Additionally you must arrive 15 minutes early for a safety briefing, so all in all give yourself an extra 30 minutes from your arrival time to the parking lot.

We also visited Cliff Palace, which just opened to tours for the summer due to road construction. Cliff Palace is gorgeous and incredibly well preserved, it's a powerful experience to walk through the site and imagine the amazing challenges and joys of living in the Palace. One of the rangers who spoke at the palace was part of the indigenous intern program and we felt fortunate to hear her from unique perspective and cultural connection to the site. If you only have time to tour one site, we would definitely recommend the Long House tour over Cliff Palace, you can get great views of cliff Palace without the tour. Give yourself plenty of time ahead of the tours...

This tour is worth it, but make sure you are physically prepared for it. To get to the tour starting point, you'll need to drive through the Mesa Verde National Park from the entrance for about an hour of winding road that climb and descend frequently - great sights included as you can see for miles around. Once you park at the Longhouse parking, hit the bathroom and fill up your water bottles, plus I'd recommend hydrating a ton before you start. You'll need to walk for about 20 minutes on a paved, unshaded road to the start of the tour (there's some shaded seating and a porta-potty there). From there, you'll descend down some steep stairs, some dirt path switchbacks, and then follow a path for another five minutes to a simply breathtaking view of the Long House. Once you arrive to it, the rangers direct you into some welcome shade by way of climbing some large ladders (they're angled a bit and aren't intimidating), and you go through a series of informative talks by the rangers describing how the ancient peoples lived in the area you're visiting. The talks aren't too lengthy and small kids stay engaged. You're all done after about 20 minutes, and then you can make the walk/climb back up the swirchbacks/stairs at your own pace (take your time!). All told, it's definitely a bit taxing as far as walking + hiking + heat, so hydrate, apply plenty of sunscreen, wear a hat, and give yourself...

The entire park provides one stunning view after another. The roads are in good condition, but twist and turn constantly and get narrow in some locations. If you're taking a scheduled tour to a ruins site, leave plenty of time to get there. In the case of Long House, which I toured, once you arrive at the check-in location, you still have about a 15-minute walk to get to the actual start-point of the tour. Reservations must be made in advance. Cell service is spotty, so it is best to do so prior to entering the park. The rangers and tour guides, from the park entrance to those conducting tours, were helpful, engaging, and pleasant. They made an incredible...