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Cliff Palace, Cortez, CO

Photo: Tobi 87, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingIconicHistory BuffOutdoor Adventure

Cliff Palace

Climb ladders with a ranger into a sandstone cliff dwelling built by Ancestral Puebloans around 1200.

Cliff Palace Loop Rd, Mesa Verde National Park · Cortez, CO

About Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park, a sandstone village built by Ancestral Puebloans between about 1200 and 1300. Roughly 100 to 120 people lived among its rooms and 21 kivas. You can only go inside on a ranger-led tour, reserved ahead on Recreation.gov. The 45-minute walk covers a quarter mile, descends uneven stone steps and climbs four ladders, with an elevation change of 100 feet.

  • #cliff dwelling
  • #national park
  • #ranger tour
  • #ancestral puebloan
  • #archaeology

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What's around here?

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

  • 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.

    Steps awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing

    Cedar Tree Tower

    No admission fee

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

    2.3 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.

    5.2 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.

    6.6 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.

    14 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

    16 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

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