While there are thousands of archaeological sites at Mesa Verde National Park, just three cliff dwellings are regularly open for ranger-led tours for 2024: Cliff Palace, Balcony House, and Square Tower House. Due to ongoing construction projects, Wetherill Mesa, where Long House and Step House cliff dwellings are located, is closed for 2024.

It's both amazing and unfortunate that while there are hundreds of cliff dwellings within Mesa Verde's boundaries, just those three are currently open on a regular basis for visitors.

Maps of the mesas included within the national park's boundaries are dotted with ruins -- Double House, Sun Point Pueblo, Square Tower House, Sun Temple, Fire Temple, Cedar Tree House, Kodak House, and Jug House. And those are just the ones with names. There also are sites denoted simply by numbers -- 1644, 1645, 1676, 1452, 1801, 1291, and 1595 just to name a few.

The problem of opening these to the public has been a lack of money and manpower. Money to both stabilize ruins enough so they can be safely toured, and manpower to provide the tours and the ongoing stabilization and monitoring work. And then, too, there's the issue of access. Some sites are just too remote and difficult to reach to make public tours realistic.

Cliff Palace, Balcony House, and Square Tower House are located on Chapin Mesa and are popular ranger-guided cliff dwelling tours for which reservations are required via recreation.gov. The full 2024 tour season begins May 12th through October 22, with very limited number of tours per day. All reservations are available 14 days in advance, starting at 8:00 a.m. MDT. For further details and tour times, click the recreation.gov link above or call 877-444-6777.

Cliff Palace and Balcony House tours are each limited to 50 people, and tickets are $8 for adults, $1 for infants (ages 2 and under). There’s a cancellation fee of $1 per ticket. Children must be capable of climbing ladders on their own, and Infants must be placed in a carrier and the adults carrying them must be able to maintain mobility and balance.

The Square Tower House tour is a special backcountry tour held once daily, starting May 24, and limited to 10 people. Tickets are $25 per person. There is a cancellation fee of $1 and no refunds.

Balcony House

A ranger-guided tour of Balcony House, Mesa Verde National Park / Rebecca Latson

This one-hour tour involves climbing a 32-foot (9.8 m) ladder, crawling through a 12-foot (3.7 m) long tunnel, and climbing up a 60-foot (20 m) open cliff face with stone steps and two 10-foot (3 m) ladders to exit the site. It’s considered one of the most adventurous of the non-backcountry ranger-led tours.

Cliff Palace

Touring Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park / Rebecca Latson

This 45-minute tour of North America’s largest known cliff dwelling involves descending uneven stone steps and climbing five ladders for a 100-foot (30 m) vertical climb. Total walking distance is 0.25 miles (0.4 km). Tour begins at the Cliff Palace Overlook, an 8-mile (12.9 km) drive from the Far View Visitor Center.

Long House

Long House is nearly equal in size to Cliff Palace, with 150 rooms, 21 kivas, and a row of upper storage rooms. In addition to providing living space for its inhabitants, it is suggested this cliff dwelling was also a public place where people from all over Wetherill Mesa gathered to trade or hold community events. Due to ongoing construction, this cliff dwelling and its ranger-led tours are closed for the 2024 season.

Spruce Tree House

Mesa Verde’s best-preserved and third-largest cliff dwelling, Spruce Tree House was constructed between A.D. 1211 and A.D. 1278. The site contains 130 rooms and 8 kivas built into a natural alcove. It is thought to have been the home to about 60 to 80 people. Unfortunately, issues with the stability of the rock ceiling to this dwelling led to its closure to the public in 2015 and continues to remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Step House

Step House is unusual in that two separate occupations exist in the same alcove; Modified Basketmaker, dating to A.D. 626, and a Classic Pueblo masonry pueblo dating to A.D. 1226. Because of its location on Wetherill Mesa, this site and the trail for self-guided tours is closed for the 2024 season due to construction projects on the mesa.

Backcountry Tours

Mug House

So named for the discovery of three pottery mugs tied together with a rope and hanging in one of the cliff dwelling’s rooms, Mug House was constructed around 1100 – 1200 AD. In previous years, Mug House has been a backcountry tours offered by the park, but is not open for backcountry tours for the 2024 season.

Square Tower House

Square Tower House, Mesa Verde National Park / Rebecca Latson

A strenuous 90-minute, 1-mile (1.6 km) round-trip hike leads to a stunning and surprisingly intimate cliff dwelling. Unusual aspects of Square Tower House include an original kiva roof and the Crow’s Nest, both features that cannot be seen from the overlook. The hike involves exposed cliff edges, scrambling down rocky slopes, and climbing a 20-foot (6.1 m) ladder and two shorter ladders to visit a spectacular cliff dwelling. This hike may not be appropriate for young children or children carried in backpacks. Each hiker must be able to scramble over boulders and navigate steep gravel trails unassisted.

There also are other cliff dwellings that can be seen from park roads.

Mesa Top Loop Road

A 6-mile (10 km) driving tour has short, paved trails to 12 easily-accessible surface sites and views of cliff dwellings. High- lights include Square Tower House and cross-canyon views of Cliff Palace. The road is open 7:30 a.m. to sunset. Allow 45 minutes to one hour.