We will be making a loop from LV through AZ and Utah back to LV. Where is the best place to see cliff dwellings in this area. Is a special tour needed?

Canyon de Chelly is one of the prettiest I think...you can view the ruins from the cliffs, &/or hike down, or take a guided trip up the canyon. Chaco is also amazing, but not cliff dwellings...reminded us more of city ruins in Mexico, than most of what you see in the southwest. There are also a number of ancient dwelling sites in Utah, but not cliff dwellings, per se. Lots to see wherever you go, depending what you're most interested in.

Montezuma's Castle is very interesting too (near Sedona).

The best cliff dwellings IMHO would be Mesa Verde National Park in Southwest Colorado.

Canyon de Chelly has several and as NatalieM, mentioned, they are in a beautiful setting. You can drive the rim drive and look down on the cliff dwellings. You can hike down to White House Ruins on your own. If you want to see more of the canyon then you have to go on a guide tour or hire a Navajo guide. We did the 1/2 day guide tour out of the Thunderbird Motel and enjoyed it a lot. I wish we had done the all day tour.

Montezuma's Castle National Monument is also impressive.

Hoovenweep is not a cliff dwelling but stand alone dwellings that are very impressive.

Chaco was also mentioned by NatalieM, but they are in northwest New Mexico. They are very impressive too!

Utahtea

A couple of good books you might want to consider getting include:
Rock Art of the SW, A Visitor's Companion by Liz & Peter Welsh. Covers 7 western states of sites open to the public. Guide to Prehistoric Ruins of the SW by Norman T. Oppelt which has a number of sites from Arizona, New Mexico and a few from Utah & Colorado open to the public.

Everybody seems to forget Masa Verde. There you have the best dwellings of all and very interesting ranger guides. Paul

I agree with Paul, Mesa Verde is not to be missed. But alas, OP was looking for places in AZ and Utah, not Colorado. IF you have the time, it is worth the detour over here to see Mesa Verde. This year is 100th anniversary and there are lots of special events going on. http://www.mesaverde2006.org/

Hope this helps...
Debi

Navajo National Monument has several cliff dwellings, well within walking distance from the visitors' center....guides can add to your information and history of the area.

Navajo National Monument you can see the cliff dwellings from a short walk but they are off in the distance and it's a pretty long hike to get to them and you have to go on a ranger lead hike. You can't make reservations and the hikes are limited in number to how many can go.

Utahtea

I am dearly in love with the cliff dwellings and rock art in the 4 corners area. If you enjoy rock art go to Horseshoe Canyon in Canyonlands and see one of the best ancient rock art panels in the southwest, the Holy Ghost Panel. It is near Goblin State Park. It is about a 4 hr hike round trip. For some very cool ruins...If you can hike for 6-8 hours go to Grand Gulch in Southern Utah for magnificant ruins. Go see the Perfect Kiva. We just went to Navago NM last month to see Keet Seel and the Betatakin Ruins. Resevations are needed for Keet and were easy to get. No guide is needed but a ranger is at the ruins when you finally get there. It a wonderful 17 mile round trip to Keet Seel Ruins. We hiked 5 miles is a small stream and passed several waterfalls. Wild horses passed us many times. It is best as and overnight trip. Betatakin Ruins do require the guide which you sign up for at the park. Camping is free the tour is free. Quite unbelieveable.
There are ruins everywhere in the southwest. Yes the ...popular ones are the ones mentioned...but the fun ones are the ones off the beaten path such as Bluff Utah. Join The American Rock Art Group and the Utah Rock Art Association if you are truely interested. If you are only able to drive in and see ruins Mesa Verde is impressive. I was there in November once and the snow on the ruins was beautiful. Chaco Canyon is also very easy to get to and interesting from a astronomical point of view as you will learn if you go there. Enjoy.

Lookup Walnut Canyon on Google and see if that meets your needs. It was very easy to get to and you could actually go inside some of the cliff dwellings.

It sounds like we duplicated your trip in 2002. You may want to look at my webpage for more details. See Vacation 2002 at www.mikehoneycutt.com

Mike Honeycutt

Lake Powell has some interesting Cliff Dwellings. They are easy to access by boat.