Mesa Verde was a pleasant surprise. In our final planning phase, we found at that we were a bit early – still the tail end of winter at 7000 ft elevation… so the three “Cliff Dwelling” tours season only starts on May 6th. We were resigned that we might not see much. But much to our surprise, because the canyons twist and turn, and are relatively narrow (compared to Grand Canyon or Canyonlands), there are viewpoints within the park that provide excellent views of those cliff dwelling, which are just amazing to see. Overall, its a small park, with few hiking trails, so it is easily done in one day.
