Mesa Verde National Park is off of US Highway 160, near Mancos and Cortez in southwest Colorado. It is most famous for its spectacular cliff dwellings built by Ancestral Puebloans starting about 700 AD.
Established as a national park in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, Mesa Verde is home nearly 5000 archaeological sites. In the same year, President Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law, establishing a basis in law for protecting our nation’s antiquities.
Photos from Mesa Verde National Park
OK, enough chit-chat. Here is a selection of photographs we took during our fall visit to the park. Most of these photos are of Cliff Palace, Spruce House, and Square Tower House.
Places to photograph in the park
To make the most of your visit and find that perfect shot, you will need to do some planning. For instance, what will be the best time to photograph the sites? Should you go at dawn, sunset, or sometime in between?
First of all, go to the NPS Mesa Verde Website for the latest information about closures and available tours. If you go to the maps section, there is a nice interactive map that highlights the sites you can see from various overlooks along over 20 miles of paved highway.
There is more detailed information about the most famous sites in the park at the Mesa Verde Museum Association Website. There are guide for Cliff Palace, Balcony House, Spruce Tree House, Long House and Step House.
Use a mobile tool like PhotoPills to visualize and plan your shots. Go to https://www.photopills.com to learn more about this tool.
While you are downloading tools, check out the Mesa Verde mobile app just released from the National Park Service. It contains more than 20 points of interest with GPS-enabled maps information highlighting natural and cultural features of the park. It is free from the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android).
Purchasing our photographs
All of our scenic photographs are available as fine art prints. Use the contact form to the right to get more information. Or, go to our Fine Art Print page to learn about various pricing options.
