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Mesa Top Ruins Road is the main road through Mesa Verde National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It runs for about 21 miles from the visitor center to Chapin Mesa.
The first half of Mesa Top Ruins Road has several steep inclines and hairpin turns as well as a short tunnel. There are a few different overlooks located along this stretch of the road.
Mancos Valley Overlook
Mancos Valley Overlook is the first stop, located just before the entrance to the Morefield Campground. There’s an interpretive panel explaining how early visitors to the park would visit the cliff dwellings as well as great views of the Mancos Valley.
It’s possible to spot the small town of Mancos in the distance. The park’s first headquarters was located there from 1906 to 1920.
Montezuma Valley Overlook
After passing through a tunnel and continuing down the road, we stopped at the Montezuma Valley Overlook, which provides views to the northwest. From there, we were able to see the town of Cortez where we had stayed overnight.
Park Point
The road twists and turns until it comes to a turn taking you up to Park Point, which is the highest point at Mesa Verde National Park at 8,572 feet. At the top, there’s a ranger station and two overlooks.
At the south overlook, there’s an interpretive panel that’s titled “The Grandest View”. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Shiprock in New Mexico. It obviously wasn’t very grand when I visited.
At the north overlook, it was more of the same. Hopefully on my next visit I’ll have better weather.
Geologic Overlook
After a few more curves, we stopped at the Geologic Overlook for more views to the northwest.
Cedar Tree Tower
Continuing along, the road evens out and passes the Far View Lodge and the junction at Wetherill Mesa Road. It continues past the Far View sites until it finally reaches the turn to Cedar Tree Tower. The structure was built sometime between 1100 and 1300. Compared to other ruins in the park, Cedar Tree Tower isn’t nearly as impressive.
There are some good views of the park from there, however. There’s also the Farming Terrace Trail, which is a short ½ mile loop to Ancestral Puebloan dams created for farming terraces.
End of the Road
Mesa Top Ruins Road continues south where there are turns to Spruce Tree House and the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, Mesa Top Loop, and the cliff dwellings of Balcony House and Cliff Palace.
