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.
Mesa Verde National Park is dedicated to the protection of over 5,000 Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings, in southwest Colorado. The area was inhabited for over 700 years from 600 to 1300. The park was established in 1906 and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument consists of over 176,000 acres of federal land protecting nearly 6,400 archaeological sites in southwest Colorado. The monument, which was created on June 9, 2000, has the highest archaeological density of any region in the United States and encompasses a few sections of Hovenweep National Monument.
Hovenweep National Monument, located in southeast Utah and southwest Colorado, protects six different groups of Ancestral Puebloan villages populated between 1200 and 1300. Over 2,500 people lived in the villages.
Bluff Fort is a recreation of the original settlement of Bluff, Utah. After traveling nearly 200 miles over rough terrain, Mormon settlers founded Bluff in 1880. The original “fort” consisted of several inward facing cabins.
The Bluff Great House is an archaeological site in Bluff, Utah. It was an Ancestral Puebloan great house much like the ones found at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.
Goosenecks State Park is a small park in southeast Utah, not too far from Mexican Hat and Bluff. It provides views of one of the most incredible river meanders in the world.
Mexican Hat is a tiny village in southeast Utah on the border of Navajo Nation. There’s nothing to see in town, but it makes a great base for visiting places like Monument Valley, Goosenecks State Park, the San Juan River, Valley of the Gods, and other natural places.
Monument Valley is one of the most photographed places on earth. It’s a spectacular natural place located on the Arizona border with Utah and is a tribal park within the territory of Navajo Nation.