Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [264]
In 2005, park officials announced that a rock squirrel in the park had tested positive for plague, the first occurrence of the potentially deadly disease since 1993. Plague is transmitted by fleas, so visitors are advised to use insect repellent on their shoes and socks and the lower sections of their pants, and to treat pets with flea repellent. Diagnosed early, plague can be treated successfully.
SEASONS & CLIMATE
With an average annual precipitation of just 18 inches, Mesa Verde remains dry despite being between 6,000 and 8,572 feet high. June is the driest month, with two-thirds of an inch of rain; and August is the wettest, with 2 inches. The park typically receives 80 inches of snow in a season. Summer temperatures tend to be about 10° cooler than in the nearby Montezuma Valley. Even during July, the hottest month, highs average an easily bearable 87°F (30°C), and nighttime lows dip into the mid-50s (lower teens Celsius). In winter, temperatures on the mesa can sometimes be 10° warmer than in the valley. This happens during calm, clear periods when cold air is trapped in the lowlands. Daytime highs on the mesa average in the low 40s (single digits Celsius) in December, January, and February.
Because winter storms often continue well into March, spring tends to come late. Warm autumns, however, are not uncommon. In April, average temperatures are 5° cooler than in October, with 60s (teens Celsius) for highs and 30s (single digits Celsius) for lows.
SEASONAL EVENTS
Throughout the summer, American Indian artists demonstrate their crafts at various locations in the park, and in August, Hopi dancers perform at Chapin Mesa Amphitheater. Contact the park for dates.
If You Have Only 1 Day
If you have only a day to spend at the park, stop first at the Far View Visitor Center to buy tickets for a late-afternoon tour of either Cliff Palace or Balcony House—visitors are not allowed to tour both on the same day. Then travel to the Chapin Mesa Museum for a look at the history behind the sites you're about to see. From there, walk down the trail behind the museum to Spruce Tree House. Lunch at Spruce Tree Terrace, then take the Mesa Top Loop Road. Cap your day with the guided tour. If time permits, you may wish to stop at Far View Sites on your way out of the park.
Exploring the Park by Car
The main scenic drive in the park is the Mesa Top Loop Road. Each of the 10 stops along this 6-mile loop either overlooks cliff dwellings or is a short walk from mesa-top dwellings. The sites date from A.D. 675 to 1275 and include structures from the Basket Maker and three Pueblo periods. By reading the interpretive panels at each site, you can learn about the developments in architecture and the changes in Pueblo culture during those periods. Highlights include the Square Tower House Viewpoint, where binoculars are handy in spotting the myriad cliff dwellings in the canyon; Sun Point Pueblo, where a tunnel links a kiva—a subterranean room used in ceremonies—to a lookout tower; and the mysterious Sun Temple, a D-shaped structure that may have been a shrine or community gathering area.
On your way back to the Far View Visitor Center, consider stopping at the Far View Sites Complex, 1 mile south of the visitor center; six sites are within walking distance, including what seem to be the remains of an ancient reservoir.
Organized Tours & Ranger Programs
Three of the park's spectacular cliff dwellings—Cliff Palace, Balcony House, and Long House—can only be visited during ranger-guided tours. Tickets ($2.70) go on sale daily at 8am at the Far View Visitor Center. Visitors may tour Long House and either Cliff Palace or Balcony House on the same day, but may not tour both Cliff Palace and Balcony House in a day. We suggest that first-time visitors with only 1 day to spend here tour Cliff Palace, the largest site in the park.
Departing every half-hour between 9am and 5pm in summer (hourly at the beginning and end