Parks / Colorado and the Great Basin
Mesa Verde
Stop 19 of 51 on the loop. Stay in Cortez CO, give it 2 nights, and plan the day around Mesa Top Loop.
- State
- CO
- Stay in
- Cortez CO
- Nights on this route
- 2
- Month on this route
- May
- Don't miss
- Mesa Top Loop
- Getting here
- 114 mi from Moab UT, about 2 h 21 min.
- Next stop
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison, 152 mi, about 3 h 37 min.
About the Park
For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage of 27 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular window into the past. This World Heritage Site and International Dark Sky Park is home to over a thousand species, including several that live nowhere else on earth.
Description from the National Park Service.
Where to Stay
On this route you sleep in Cortez CO. Gateway towns have more lodging, groceries and fuel than the park itself. If you want an in-park lodge instead, the busiest parks book up as early as 13 months out.
Entrance Fees
- $20–$30 Private Vehicle
- $15–$25 Motorcycle
- $15 Per person (walk or bike in)
An $80 America the Beautiful annual pass covers entry at every national park; on a trip like this it pays for itself after three parks. Fees from the NPS, checked 2026-10-18.
Nearby Parks
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison about 87 mi as the crow flies
- Arches about 100 mi as the crow flies
- Canyonlands about 100 mi as the crow flies
Official site: https://www.nps.gov/meve/. Route data checked 2026-10-19.