Mesa Verde National Park Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour
Overview
Uncover ancient history with this self-guided driving tour through Mesa Verde, Colorado. Home to the world-famous cliff dwellings built nearly 1,000 years ago, this plateau has no shortage of breathtaking sights. Delve into the story of the Ancestral Puebloan people and their ingenious architecture as you admire these sprawling dwellings built into cliff faces. Take in sweeping vistas. Embark on unforgettable hikes through the high desert. And so much more!
After booking, check your email to download the separate Audio Tour Guide App by Action, enter your unique password, and access your tour. These steps require good internet/Wi-Fi access. From there, follow the audio instructions and the route.
New, extra validity — now yours for an entire year! Use multiple times over multiple trips!
This is not an entrance ticket to attractions along the route. Check opening hours before your visit.
Meeting and Pickup
Mesa Verde National Park Entrance Sign, Mancos, CO 81328, USA
Open in Google MapsAfter booking the tour, search your email for the phrase "Set up your self-guided tour now." Follow these instructions NOW to finish setting up the tour while you have Wi-Fi/data. Do NOT wait until you are onsite.
Mesa Top Loop, Mesa Top Loop, MESA VERDE, CO 81330, USA
Description
Stop At: Mesa Verde National Park Entrance Sign, Mancos, CO 81328, USA
Welcome to the sacred land of Mesa Verde! This tour begins at the Mesa Verde National Park Entrance Sign. If you’re already here, pause and snap an iconic photo with the sign before beginning. If you’d like to learn a bit more about the tour’s features, click on Learn More. Otherwise, let’s get started!
Note: This 30+ mile-long tour covers the essentials of Mesa Verde National Park in 2-3 hours.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Mancos Valley Overlook, Mancos, CO 81328, USA
Coming up in a moment is Mancos Valley Overlook, boasting an amazing vista of the valley far below us and the mountains beyond. From here, you can see some of the distinct ecosystems in these mountains. There’s the shrub-steppe community at lower elevations dominated by plants like sagebrush and rabbitbrush. A little higher up is the pinyon-juniper woodland, also known as the “pygmy forest.” Here, pinyon and juniper trees are king. It’s called a pygmy forest because these trees don’t typically grow more than 30 feet tall.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Point Lookout Trail, Colorado
We’re approaching a detour opportunity for one of Mesa Verde’s most popular hiking trails: Point Lookout Trail. It’s only two miles long, but climbs 500 feet in elevation. Most of it is switchbacks to get to the top of the butte and then a bit of flatness up to the edge. I’d consider it a moderate hike that can take up to two hours.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Montezuma Valley Overlook, State Highway 10, Mancos, CO 81328, USA
Around 1200 C.E., up to 35,000 Ancestral Puebloans called Montezuma Valley their home. That’s more than the number of people living there today! From this overlook, we can also see the distinctive Knife Edge rock formation. It’ll be that jagged, triangular spit of rock jutting across the landscape.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Park Point, Park Point, Colorado 81328, USA
Coming up in just a minute, we’ll have the chance to visit the highest point in Mesa Verde: Park Point. Sitting at 8,572 feet above sea level, there’s not much you can’t see from up here. It’s also known to be a bit cooler and breezy at the peak, so this might be particularly nice if you’re visiting on a hot day.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Geologic Overlook, Mancos, CO 81328, USA
Coming up soon is Geologic Overlook, offering great views of Mesa Verda’s fascinating geologic past. From here, we’ll be able to see the four distinct layers of stone that accumulated to make up much of the park today.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Long House, Wetherill Mesa Info Kiosk, Colorado
We’re approaching the most famous cliff dwellings in this region, but we also have the option to take a detour to another couple structures that are off the beaten path. The detour leads to Long House and Step House, and you can actually walk through these ancient historic sites. The detour does add about an hour of driving in total, but it’s worth it if you want to add something extra to your visit!
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Step House, Wetherill Mesa Rd, Colorado
We’re approaching the most famous cliff dwellings in this region, but we also have the option to take a detour to another couple structures that are off the beaten path. The detour leads to Long House and Step House, and you can actually walk through these ancient historic sites. The detour does add about an hour of driving in total, but it’s worth it if you want to add something extra to your visit!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Far View Reservoir, State Highway 10, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
We’re approaching the Far View House, the first ancient structure on our tour. It’s not a cliff dwelling, but it was once one of the most densely populated parts of Mesa Verde. And it owes its success to the Far View Reservoir
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Far View House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
This impressive structure up here is the Far View House, a precursor to the more advanced cliff dwellings. It was built around the year 1000 and became the center of one of the most densely-populated centers of Puebloan life.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Coyote Village, State Highway 10, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
Welcome to Coyote Village! Like Far View House, this ancient dwelling place once housed numerous Puebloan families. And like Far View House, the structure centers around those circular kivas.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Megalithic House, State Hwy 10, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
This is a great example of a totally different type of living situation that was common in this area during the Puebloan times. Just one extended family lived here, with multiple generations sharing the same house. It shows us that not all of Puebloan society revolved around dense, multi-family structures like Far View House! Plenty of others lived in separate homes, though these were almost always located very near to the larger structures.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Far View Tower, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
While it might not look much like a tower anymore, this once served as an important watchtower for this community. Here, watchers could keep an eye out for approaching enemies, herds of game, and bad weather on the horizon. The natural elevation of this site made a tower like this one super effective!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Cedar Tree Tower, Cedar Tree Tower, Colorado 81330, USA
Coming up in a moment will be another unique type of building from the Ancestral Puebloans: Cedar Tree Tower. This was one of many towers that once dotted the top of this mesa. While the tower doesn’t stand at its previous height, the base has been remarkably well preserved. Like most of the towers found in Mesa Verde, this one is situated quite close to a kiva. This proximity has led some to speculate that these towers were used not only for observation, but also for ceremonial purposes. They were also useful for communicating from one settlement to another, which explains why there are so many of them!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Petroglyph Trail, Petroglyph Trl, Colorado 81330, USA
Coming up after the bend ahead is Petroglyph Point Trail. This moderately difficult 2.5-mile hike takes about two hours, and leads you on a scenic loop through Spruce Canyon. This trail actually gets its path from an ancient Puebloan foot trail, so you’ll be walking the same route that those who lived here a thousand years ago would have taken to connect with other communities!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Spruce Tree House, Colorado
Park in this lot. Here, we can access the Petroglyph Point Trail and get a great look at our first proper cliff dwelling. Once you’ve parked, head to the building we just passed on our right. That’s the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum. Behind it, we’ll find overlooks with views of a cliff dwelling called the Spruce Tree House!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Cliff Palace, Colorado
Just up ahead we’ll be able to witness one of the most stunning pieces of ancient architecture in Mesa Verde: The Cliff Palace! As its name of grandeur suggests, Cliff Palace is significantly larger than most other cliff dwellings that have been found at Mesa Verde. It’s actually the largest of all the cliff dwellings in the region.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: House of Many Windows, Mesa Top Ruins Road Mesa Verde, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
Up next is an overlook offering views of the House of Many Windows cliff dwelling. Looking from this gorgeous vista, we’ll be able to see a low dwelling tucked into Cliff Canyon. Once the home to a large Puebloan family, the House of Many Windows has 15 rooms that have been remarkably well preserved by its sheltered position in the cliffs. Most of the “windows” aren’t actually windows at all. They’re doors!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Hemenway House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
In a moment we’ll come to an overlook with a view of the Hemenway House, one of Mesa Verde’s more precarious cliff dwellings. This house gets its name from New Yorker Mary Hemenway, who helped to fund some of the early archaeological efforts in Mesa Verde.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Balcony House, Colorado
It gets its name from the balcony ‘railing’ that separates the steep cliff face from the rest of the alcove. Probably a good idea given the dizzying heights! About 30 people lived here and used these 38 rooms and two kivas. One interesting thing about this balcony is it actually faces northeast, which is unusual for cliff dwellings. This means the people who lived here didn’t get much sun or warmth during the winter months. So why did they build it this way?
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Soda Canyon Overlook Trail, Colorado
On our right, we’re coming up on the trail that leads to the Soda Canyon Overlook. This easy 1-mile trail takes about a half hour. It winds through the juniper and pinyon trees that dot the cliff sides on the way to the magnificent views of Soda Canyon. Along the way, you’ll also come to a few different overlooks offering breathtaking views of the canyon. And at the end, you’ll get an even better view of Balcony House than the one we just left!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Pithouse, Mesa Top Loop, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
Coming up soon is the Pithouse, offering a glimpse at a different time period from the cliff dwellings. Here, we’ll be able to see one of the earliest permanent structures built within Mesa Verde. The pithouse structure was the dominant structure Ancestral Puebloans built and lived in around the year 600 CE.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Navajo Canyon View, State Hwy 10, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
Just ahead on our right will be Navajo Canyon View, offering spectacular views of the landscape. I highly recommend stopping there for photos!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Square Tower House, Colorado 81330
Just beyond that viewpoint, we’ll also get to the tallest structure standing in Mesa Verde at Square Tower House. This tower stands over the rest of the buildings in this area at four stories, or 27 feet tall! Rectangular cutouts up and down the structure seem to be windows, but archaeologists can’t say for certain whether they served another purpose.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Sun Point Pueblo, Mesa Top Loop, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
The collection of dwellings we’re passing now belong to the Mesa Top Sites. Each offers another glimpse into Ancestral Puebloan life. Coming up soon on our left will be one of the largest, the Sun Point Pueblo.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Sun Point View, State Hwy 10, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
Just ahead is Sun Point View, offering a vista which features a cliff that’s absolutely filled with cliff dwellings! From this spot alone we’ll be able to see over 30 separate dwellings!
Park in the turnout coming up on our right to check out the view.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Oak Tree House, State Hwy 10, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
Oak Tree House is one of the best examples in the park of how Ancestral Puebloans were able to adapt these alcoves to their needs. The alcove itself has two separate layers, each of which has every inch of space utilized! Up in the outer alcove where it would’ve been rather cramped to live, the Ancestral Puebloans constructed storage spaces! The inner alcove contains all sorts of structures and dwellings for habitation. While many of the dwellings are rather small with fewer than 10 rooms, some rose very tall all the way to the ceiling of the inner alcove.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Sun Temple, Mesa Top Loop, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330, USA
The Sun Temple is a ceremonial site that may just be one of the best examples to show off the Ancestral Puebloans’ architectural prowess! Sun Temple would have been an immense labor effort to construct, and research done on the site in 2017 revealed some fascinating details about its construction. Sun Temple shows evidence the Ancestral Puebloans had knowledge of sophisticated geometric concepts, such as the pythagorean theorem. They used them to construct the Sun Temple. To keep things uniform, they even had their own standardized system of measurement! One “unit” equaled about 30 centimeters.
Duration: 5 minutes
What To Expect
- Reservations are REQUIRED for all bookings
- Book Your Package On-Line and Receive Your Confirmation
- Departure point: Detailed check-in instructions - including the address and parking information if applicable - will be included in your final confirmation email.
- Duration: 2 to 3 hours (Approx.)
- Departure Time:
Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.
Mesa Verde National Park Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour
11/16/2023 - 12/28/2025Monday - Sunday : 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Return Details:
Mesa Top Loop, Mesa Top Loop, MESA VERDE, CO 81330, USA
What's Included
- Easy-to-use app: download Action’s Tour Guide App onto your phone
- Great value: purchase per car, not per person. More affordable than bus or guided tours!
- Engaging storytelling: Uncover unique tales and thrilling history for a memorable journey!
- Perfect narrator: nothing can beat listening to a great voice. Proven with tons of rave reviews!
- Offline maps: no signal, no problem! Works perfectly without cellular or wifi.
- Comprehensive route and stops: See it all, miss nothing, leave no stone unturned!
- Go at your own pace: Start anytime, pause anywhere, enjoy breaks for snacks and photos freely!
- Hands-free: audio stories play on their own based on your location. Easy to use!
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup not offered
- Attraction passes, entry tickets, or reservations
What To Bring
- Confirmation Voucher (printed or mobile)
- Any required or suggested items listed on your confirmation email.
- A Smile!
Protecting you
Additional Info
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- How to access: Once you book a tour, you’ll get a confirmation email with instructions. Follow the instructions right away: • Download the separate app • Enter the password • Download the tour • MUST DO while in strong wifi/cellular.
- How to start the tour: Open Action’s separate audio tour guide app once onsite. • If there is just one tour, launch it. • If multiple tour versions exist, launch the one with your planned starting point and direction. • Go to the starting point. (Note: no one will meet you at the start. This tour is self-guided). • The audio will begin automatically at the starting point. If you face audio issues, visit the FAQ. • Stick to the tour route & speed limit for the best experience.
- Amazing Savings: why pay for an expensive, crowded, and limited bus tour — priced per person! — when you can have ONE amazing audio guide on your OWN phone for your WHOLE group?
- Flexibility and Convenience: • Use the tour app anytime, on any day, and over multiple days. It's perfect for tailoring your exploration and revisiting your favorite spots on future trips. • Start and pause the tour whenever you like, taking breaks and exploring side excursions at your own pace, free from the constraints of a group.
- Comprehensive Tour Experience: •The app provides a full itinerary, travel tips, narrated audio stories, scripts, images, videos, and recommendations for additional activities. • Enjoy a private experience without the crowds, ideal for personalized stops and photo opportunities.
- Ease of Use and Accessibility: • The app is hands-free and activates stories via GPS, offering support through call, chat, or email. • There is no need for a continuous cell or Wi-Fi connection as the GPS map works offline.
- Memorable Keepsakes: • Utilize the app’s images to create a photo book or share on social media, ensuring you have high-quality, crowd-free memories from your trip.
- Preparation: • After booking, download the app and the tour using a strong Wi-Fi connection. • Review the tour at home before your trip for a better experience.
- Starting the Tour: • Open the app upon arrival at your destination. • Select the appropriate tour based on your starting point. • Head to the starting location; the audio will begin automatically. • Follow the suggested route and adhere to the speed limit for an optimal experience. • By following these instructions and taking advantage of the app's features, users can enjoy a personalized, flexible, and in-depth exploration of their destination at their own pace and convenience.
- Minimum Mobile OS Requirement: iOS 14 or later / Android 9 (Pie) or later. It is compatible with iPad models that have a GPS chip.
- CarPlay and Android Auto are not yet supported. Connect your phone via Bluetooth, USB, or Aux for audio. Use phone speakers if needed.
- Operated by a business
Reviews
Average 4.74 out of 5 stars based on 27 traveler reviews collected by Cool Destinations and partner sites such as Trustpilot, Viator, and TripAdvisor
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