There appear to be different tours you can take. We don't have time for all of them. Which is better: Cliff Palace, Balcony House, Step House? I guess Cliff Palace is the most famous?

Mr. Pickle and the kids did Balcony House. I don't like heights, so I skipped it, but they enjoyed themselves. We all did the Cliff Palace tour, which was really good. The rangers are very knowledgeable.

Lee Ann

You can't go wrong with the Cliff Palace.

We really enjoyed Mesa Verde. We had tours at Cliff Palace & Balcony House and walked around the Farview ruins & down to Spruce Treehouse. Rained out for Wetherill Mesa.

Balcony was our favorite because the tour goes into & through the formation. The ladders to leave seemed rather long & to me, precarious. My young adult daughters weren't bothered at all.

If you are going to Mesa Verde, you might want to check this site out also. Its called "Beyond Mesa Verde"

http://reddirtdawg.blogspot.com/

It also depends on the time of year.

In winter, there is only 1 ranger led tour available: Spruce Tree House. {Cliff and Balcony House are closed}.

Wetherill Mesa [Step House, Long House, etc] is closed mid Sept to Memorial Day.

http://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/hours.htm has info on which places are open and when.

Deb

I live in area, you did a nice job on the blog and pictures, Rick!

Deb

I've done all three and my favorite two are Long House and Cliff Palace because of their vast size. Balcony House gives you a feel of what it took to live in a place like this because you have to crawl though small openings. Which ever one you pick, will be a good choice!

Utahtea

We did 4 of them and regret not having an extra day to see the wetherill area. Each one is a little different. Do as many as you can!!! Even if you just get to see one, you will have an idea of what the others are like. Our favorite was Balcony, it is more adventourous, if you are afraid of heights or are not physically able to hang on to a chain and climb, it won't be for you. The petroglyph trail is a nice hike. We enjoyed a meal in the Metate Dining Room. If you have any specific questions, Utahtea and Debit know a lot about the area. You might want to include the date when you are going to be there.

Reddirtdawg, you make me want to go find some of those dwellings. It looks like you would have the places to yourself for the most part.

Be advised that with Cliff palace and Balcony house you exit via a ladder. I have a fear of heights and this came as a surprise to me after I was already down there.I almost decided to become a latter day Anasazi and stay.

I am quite surprised that you were surprised about the climbing required when visiting these sites.

As a local, I have been on each tour many times and each time, the ranger has clearly stated before starting the tour what was required for completing the tour.

Believe me, they do not want to have to use extraordinary measures to get people out any more than is absolutely necessary.

There is even a mock up of the "tunnel" that you have to crawl through when visiting Balcony House - it is just outside the entrance to visitor's center. Even the ticket sellers tell people what is required.

The NP website and various signs around park indicate what is required.

http://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisi...activities.htm

Sorry you were caught off guard.

Deb

Our tour guide gave an excessive speech about if you are afraid of ladders, etc. to not do the trip. I think a simple warning would be good enough, but it went on and on and was repeated several times. There would be really no way for a suprise. Our guide pretty much described it as climbing Mount Everest, not a ladder or small climb up a cliff. This was done at Cliff Palace and Balcony House, by different guides. So I am also suprised that you were suprised.

Regarding my being surprised: this was 1987 and I assure you there were no signs and the rangers gave no lecture on this. I was with a group of three and none of us were aware of the ladders but regardless we all made the ascent. i moved to Durango in 1999 and made two trips there with visiting family and still at that time no signs, etc.Anyway, my post was meant to be humorous.

We did Balcony house in July of 1998 and they had so many warnings before you bought the tickets and while you were standing in line to go on the tour that they were beginning to scare me....and I don't have a fear of heights or small places!

Utahtea