I’d like to visit some cliff dwellings next year and would like recommendation for when and where.
Mesa Verde, Chaco or others???
Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona????
(I was actually looking at some Road Scholar trips - anyone done these?)

Canyon de Chelly, near Chinle, Navajo Nation (NE AZ).

I really liked Mesa Verde.The National Park Service always does a good job with guided tours. When I was there long ago, one could actuallyclimb down inside a kiva but not any more. The national park is near Durango which is a cool town. Early fall is the best time to go. Fewer visitors and cooler temps.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the two Road Scholar trips I have taken but haven't taken one to the cliff dwellings. I have visited Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings twice, and found them fascinating, but I haven't visited cliff dwellings in other places.

We did the Phoenix/Scottsdale area (Taliesin West & Cosanti) then drove north and visited Arcosanti, Montezuma Castle Ntl Mnmt (Sinagua people cliff dweling) and into Sedona. It's an amazing area.

Oh, Chladyg, please share your trip details after you go. I'll be reading along!

Thanks for the suggestions.
I'm really tired of doing all the planning - hence the interest in Road Scholar, but the other suggestions make me think we might rent a car and check out other sites as well.

We visited Canyon de Chelly in late winter some years ago and were knocked out. Here are a couple of (pre-digital) photos taken from the canyon rim. (Tours on the canyon floor are controlled by the tribal authorities and we didn't have time.)

Canyon deChelly is not my favorite because you can't walk into the dwellings. Here is my trip report for Mesa Verde--the very best place to see dwellings IMO. It's one of very few places where you can dwellings that are still intact enough to understand them and in such a density that you can see several in one day. You also get to see the dwellings over time--from Basket Maker pit houses on the mesa top to the cliff dwellings of the 1200-1300s.
Teens at Mesa Verde

You want to go in the sprint when the ranger tours are going. Fall is also a good time but it can be monsoon season and the ranger tours stop by the end of September/middle of October--and there could be fires as well. You can also see an amazing kiva at Canyon of the Ancients (covered in my trip report above). From Mesa Verde, you could go to Hovenweep--there is an easy walk around a bunch of towers there. If you click on my user name, you will find a trip report for Bluff Utah that included Hovenweep. Many years ago we did a circle road trip--Hovenweep, Mesa Verde, Chaco, Canyon de Chelly, and Monument Valley. Chaco is amazing to see but you need to read up a bunch on your own--when I was there, there were not many info signs etc. From MV, you could also go to Salmon and Aztec Ruins--which includes a reconstructed kiva.

We often visit the dwellings and rock art in the four corners area. There are lots of choices, some which you can visit in an hour or two and some that you need multiple days to visit.

Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelley require more time to get to and explore. Bandelier, Aztec Ruin, Walnut Canyon, and many others take a few hours to a day to give you a taste. Canyon de Chelley is a Navajo Park and you only can go into the area with a Guide, which are available in the town of Chinle. Most of the others are National Parks or National Monuments or on National Forest or BLM land.

Often we look for an early flight into Albuquerque and head north to Bloomfield NM, about 2 and half hours away and if we are going to Chaco is the closest lodging we have found although it is a bit of a a backtrack. It also is another couple of hours to Mesa Verde, so if rain has made the road into Chaco impassible, we can visit Aztec Ruin and then head to Mesa Verde. It is also about as far as we are willing to drive after a long flight.

Depending on what other things we want to see, we also have explored from Denver, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. If money matters, be sure to look at the cost of car rental, lodging,as wel as airfare and the time to get to the sites. If the flight gets in late in the day or leaves early in the morning you will probably lay have to stay close to the airport on arrival or before departure.

I have photos of many of the places in albums at. Www.flikr.com/ photos/emalloy2009. If that helps you decide

Figure out where you want to visit and come back with suggestions for routs,lodging, etc. Have a great trip

Amazing - I’m researching the exact same question. I’ve never done an organized tour in my life, but for the first time I’m considering doing one, the Road Scholar “Ancient Puebloans” tour..

it might be nice to let someone else do the planning! Also, all that driving would exhaust me if I went on my own.

Gila Cliff Dwellings is another good one with ranger led tours inside the dwellings.. You can stay in Silver City NM.

I liked driving through Mesa Verde but it was crowded.


I have mixed experiences with Road Scholar.