Cedar Tree Tower

A mesa-top stone tower site on Chapin Mesa, linked to the Farming Terrace Trail.

Mesa Verde National Park, CO

About Cedar Tree Tower

Cedar Tree Tower is one of several tower sites found on the mesa tops of Mesa Verde. Its builders mostly raised these towers during the Classic period, roughly 1100 to 1300 CE, and they are usually paired with a kiva. Researchers do not know the tower-kiva purpose. Some suggest a ceremonial role because of the kiva link, while others propose a communication network. The site sits near a four-way intersection on Chapin Mesa and is self-guided. The adjacent Farming Terrace Trail is a short half-mile loop that shows check dams and terraces used for farming.

#archaeology
#ancestral Puebloan
#mesa top
#self-guided
#hiking nearby

What's around here?

The closest stops to Cedar Tree Tower, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Sightseeing
Iconic
Cliff Palace
$25–$50
Climb ladders with a ranger into a sandstone cliff dwelling built by Ancestral Puebloans around 1200.
2.3 mi awayMore like this
Sightseeing
Sun Temple
No admission fee
A large D-shaped stone structure on Mesa Top in Mesa Verde National Park, thought to have served ceremonial purposes.
2.4 mi awayMore like this
Sightseeing
Far View Sites Complex
No admission fee
Mesa-top archaeological sites in Mesa Verde National Park, reached by a short walking trail.
3.0 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Mesa Verde National Park
Under $25
A national park in southwestern Colorado protecting well-preserved cliff dwellings built by Ancestral Pueblo people.
4.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors
Shopping
Local Gem
Books
No admission fee
A small independent bookstore in downtown Cortez selling new and used titles.
12 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
Tours
Outdoor Adventure
Mesa Verde Stables
$50+
A working ranch near Mesa Verde offering guided horseback rides through mountains, meadows and Ute Tribal Park.
Transit: reachable by public transit
15 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours