Far View Sites Complex

Mesa-top archaeological sites in Mesa Verde National Park, reached by a short walking trail.

Mesa Verde National Park, CO

About Far View Sites Complex

Far View Sites Complex preserves a cluster of excavated and stabilized ancestral Puebloan sites on the mesa top in Mesa Verde National Park. Between roughly A.D. 900 and 1300 the area held a dense population, with dozens of villages packed into a small area. Visitors follow a trail linking several surface sites, including Far View House, Pipe Shrine House, Coyote Village, Far View Reservoir, Megalithic House, and Far View Tower. The site is self-guided and shows that people lived here long before the famous cliff dwellings were built, and that some stayed on the mesa top after many neighbors moved into the alcoves.

#ancestral Puebloan
#archaeology
#self-guided
#mesa top
#walking trail

What's around here?

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

Sports & Outdoors
Mesa Verde National Park
Under $25
A national park in southwestern Colorado protecting well-preserved cliff dwellings built by Ancestral Pueblo people.
1.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors
Sightseeing
Cedar Tree Tower
No admission fee
A mesa-top stone tower site on Chapin Mesa, linked to the Farming Terrace Trail.
3.0 mi awayMore like this
Sightseeing
Iconic
Cliff Palace
$25–$50
Climb ladders with a ranger into a sandstone cliff dwelling built by Ancestral Puebloans around 1200.
5.2 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.
5.3 mi awayMore like this
Shopping
Local Gem
Books
No admission fee
A small independent bookstore in downtown Cortez selling new and used titles.
9.0 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
14 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours