Mesa Verde National Park Full Day Tour
Overview
Available languages
9 hours
Mobile ticket
Your professional guide will customize the trip to your group offering choices from the park's ranger-guided tours (Seasonally available 2nd week of May thru 3rd week of October) as well as adding historical, cultural and archaeological insights on interpretive hikes and walking tours. Park entrance fees, ranger-guided tour tickets and a deli-style lunch are included.
Discover Mesa Verde National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978 and considered the largest archaeological preserve and first cultural National Park in the country. Mesa Verde, Spanish for green table, offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years. Today the park protects nearly 5,000 known archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States.
Additional Info
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Minimum age of 4 years old
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Mountain Waters Rafting & Adventure Company
Park for free, check-in, get ready, head off to Mesa Verde National Park for the day
Mesa Verde National Park
You will learn and see as much as you can in a single day with a guide passionate about the park and the culture. This tour has stops at several of the parks archaeological sites, several of the cliff dwellings, the historic museum, spectacular and a 30 minute ranger guided tour into the crown jewel of the park; Cliff Palace. Cliff Palace is a world- famous masterpiece of architecture and design and the largest cliff dwelling in the park. Considered moderately strenuous, this tour will descend uneven stone steps and climb four 10ft ladders, with an elevation change of 100 feet. Total walking distance is 1/4 mile. Although tickets will be provided for everyone, not everyone has to go on the tour and this can be decided together with your guide at the park. Included: Park fees, Cliff Palace tickets, transportation to and from Durango and within the park, plenty of water and a delicious sandwich lunch. Cannot accommodate children under the age of 4 or people will severe mobility issues
What‘s Included
Professional guide
National Park fees
Tour escort/host
Driver/guide
Lunch
Transport by private vehicle
Gratuities
Options
Mesa Verde National Park Full Day Tour
Reviews
39 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Great tour & outstanding guide!
Maria C,,Sep 25, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Our guide Neil was AWESOME! He was knowledgeable, experienced, and entertaining. We were able to see & do everything on our list!
Wonderful Day
U9858VSjeffm,,Sep 24, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Had a wonderful time experiencing Mesa Verde National Park with this company. Our guide, Neil, knew where to take us, arranged tours of the two best dwellings, shared an incredible amount of insight into the Ancient Puebloans and the land they lived on. His passion for Mesa Verde was infectious. He made a great lunch, too! Working with this company was a breeze, and the tour itself was first rate. Highly recommended.
Best tour guide ever
caridada690,,Sep 11, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour was amazing. Our tour guide Neil was above and beyond phenomenal. Made sure to contact us the night before. Was on time for pick up. Knowledge and understanding of location was right on point. We had a wonderful time that will not be forgotten. Neil is a true gem and really loves what he does. Ohh and what can I say about the “chicken salad”? The best ever!! We will be back for sure. Thank you for a truly amazing experience.
Neil IS AN AMAZING TOUR GUIDE
C6186FPchuckr,,Sep 10, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00My wife and I had the most awesome time with Neil our tour guide. He made us sandwiches for lunch that tasted amazing. The tour is top notch and I recommend to anybody. Neil has loads of historical knowledge he shared with us
Exploring Cliff Palace & Balcony House with Neil was fantastic!
Melissa D,,Jul 31, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We truly enjoyed our full day tour of Mesa Verde. Not only was the park itself absolutely stunning, but our tour guide Neil did a fantastic job of filling us in on all of the history of the Ancient Pueblo people and everything that has gone on with the land over the centuries. It was fascinating to learn about and getting to explore both Cliff Palace and Balcony House!
Great time visiting the Mesa Verde national park
Acimino11,,Jun 24, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our tour guy Neil was very informative. Good talker had plenty of snacks. Plenty of water and Gatorade. Had a great lunch. Reserved a table under the shade overall did a great job.
Learning about Precipice Living
fernroseVancouver,,Jun 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour company is very well organized and our local guide, Wes, is well informed, thoughtful, entertaining and experienced. The two National Park cliff tours we took in were the Cliff Palace and Balcony House both involving ladder climbs to exit the tour. Balcony House also had a narrow tunnel and chain/link fence precipice exit! It felt like an adventure and a treat to learn more about Pueblo culture.
Fantastic experience.
JJ P,,Jun 10, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fantastic experience. We had our 4 gransons aged 9-18 years. They all lovedit. Our guide Wes was so knowledgeable and fun!
Best way to explore Mesa Verde
marktY6742DW,,May 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a great day with Wes. He filled the driving time with fun history lessons about the local people and geology. He was a wealth of information about all the sites visited. We had ranger guided tours of Cliff House and Cliff Palace with about 30-40 others. These were very organized and allowed up-close exploration of the cliff dwellings. Fun ladder climbs and a tunnel to shimmy through.
Fun-filled Mesa Verde Experience
W6570RHmike,,May 18, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Mesa Verde is a must see if you are in the Durango area. No BSing here, Neil was the best tour guide ever! He drove us to the park, made our small group of 9 feel like family and gave us an entertaining history of the historic site. Neil set up visits to the most popular tours (Cliff Palace and Balcony House) and had a delicious lunch for us when we were ready. Neil showed us many other sites and also took pictures of us and then sent them directly. Who does that?!! We had a great time and having Neil as an expert trip guide made it even better.
From US$195.00
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Operated by Mountain Waters Rafting & Adventure Company LLC