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2.5 miles of hiking • 500' elevation gain •

Since we weren't too far from Mesa Verde NP, we decided to give it one day. This is small park & not a lot of trails there, but it is famous for a large concentration of Indian ruins, most are well-preserved. Pueblo Indians built small "towns" in huge caverns on the sides of the canyons. What came to a surprise is that once you pay the entrance fee, you have to pay for a ticket at visitor center to actually see the ruins (some are free but most famous are not). Out of 3 recommended ruins, we were lucky to get tickets for one - Cliff Palace - the largest preserved in the park. We also explored Spruce Tree House town (no tickets were required) and possibly every viewpoint on the way. Fun day.

Staticmap?size=254x125&zoom=4&maptype=terrain&markers=icon:http%3a%2f%2fwenthiking.com%2fimages%2fmarkersmall.png&key=aizasydt2ewyqnn42qqnrpazuysi2dtyerccchw&center=37.166,-108 These wells were initially covered Spruce Tree House (a smaller town) inside the "storage" well Cliff Palace was home to about 100 Pueblo Indians. It was abandoned after a long period of failing crops, drought, and over-hunting Those structures are impressive The view you see from the first view point

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Kyle Meyer hearts this trip.