Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [266]
Step House
.5 mile RT. Moderate. Access: Wetherill Mesa parking area.
This loop descends roughly 75 feet of stairs and switchbacks to Step House, a cliff dwelling that dates from A.D. 1226. Three Modified Basket Maker pit houses dating from 626 sit to the left of Step House (as you look toward it). A set of prehistoric stone stairs climbs from these dwellings toward a break in the cliffs.
NEAR MOREFIELD CAMPGROUND
Knife Edge Trail
1.5 miles RT. Easy. Access: Near Morefield Village.
This trail follows the old Knife Edge Road, the only automobile route into the park until a tunnel was blasted between Prater and Morefield canyons in 1957. Now, during wet years, wildflowers brighten the old roadbed, which hugs the side of Prater Ridge on one side and drops off all the way to the Montezuma Valley on the other. A self-guided tour identifies many of the plant species along the trail. From the end of this trail, you can watch the sun set behind Sleeping Ute Mountain.
Point Lookout Trail
2.3 miles RT. Moderate. Access: Near Morefield Village.
This trail rises in tight switchbacks from the northeast corner of the campground to the top of Point Lookout, a monument conspicuous from near the park's entrance. It then traverses the top of this butte to a stunning overlook of the Montezuma Valley. Sheer drops in several places make the trail unsuitable for small children.
Prater Ridge Trail
7.8 miles RT. Moderate. Access: Near Morefield Village.
This loop rises 700 feet from the campground's west side to the top of Prater Ridge. Once atop the ridge, the trail forks, looping around the top of the mesa and opening onto views of the Montezuma and Mancos valleys and the La Plata Mountains. A cutoff trail halves the mesa-top loop, which zigzags around a number of side canyons. Because the trail is faint in places where it crosses the sandstone, some route-finding skills may be necessary. Fire in the summer of 2000 damaged the area, leaving almost no shade along the trail.
LONGER TRAILS ON CHAPIN MESA
Three backcountry trails on Chapin Mesa are open to day-hikers. Before hiking the Petroglyph Point and Spruce Canyon trails, register at the trailhead, where hikers can borrow or buy a booklet for the self-guided tour on the Petroglyph Point Trail. No registration is required for the Soda Canyon Overlook Trail.
Petroglyph Point Trail
2.8 miles RT. Moderate. Access: Short paved trail to Spruce Tree House site, just below Chapin Mesa Museum and Chief Ranger Station.
This loop trail travels just below the rim of a side canyon of Spruce Canyon. It eventually reaches Petroglyph Point, one of the park's most impressive panels of rock art. Just past the petroglyphs, the trail climbs to the rim. It stays on the relatively flat rimrock for its return to the Chapin Mesa Museum.
Soda Canyon Overlook Trail
1.5 miles RT. Easy. Access: Pullout on Cliff Palace Loop Rd.
This trail crosses the rim from a parking area on the Cliff Palace Loop Road to overlooks of Soda Canyon and Balcony House. To view Balcony House, go right when the trail forks.
Spruce Canyon Trail
2.1 miles RT. Moderate. Access: Short paved trail to Spruce Tree House site, just below Chapin Mesa Museum and Chief Ranger Station.
This loop descends 500 feet into a tributary of Spruce Canyon. Turning to the north, it travels up the bed of Spruce Canyon before climbing in steep switchbacks to the rim. It reaches the rim near the park's picnic area, a short walk from the Chapin Mesa Museum. The vegetation along the bottom of the canyon includes Douglas firs and ponderosa pines, which flourish in the moist, cool canyon-bottom soil. Damaged by fire in 2002, the exit area of the trail has little shade in the afternoon.
Camping
The impressive Morefield Campground, c/o Aramark, P.O. Box 277, Mancos, CO 81328 (☎ 800/449-2288