Mesa Verde National Park is located south of highway 160 and is ten miles east of Cortez, CO in the southwest corner of Colorado. The entrance has a very distinguished rocky mountain near the entrance. You will be on that mountain soon.

Once you pass through the gate where you pay, you have a long drive ahead of you before you get to the cliff dwellers area. You will be able to see for miles at many points. The road is curvy and you will most likely get behind someone doing 20 MPH the entire time although 40 - 60 MPH is possible. The one-lane only for construction did not help. That caused ten-minute delays.

If you want a guided tour of the cliff dwellings, you MUST get a ticket at the Visitor Center (about 15 miles from the front gate). Otherwise, all you can do is see them from a distance.

There is also a museum (rather interesting showing artifacts and giving the history of the area) and a variety of other houses along the way.

I have been to probably twenty national parks in my life. To me, Mesa Verde was the worst designed of any of them -- by a long shot. Frustration (and construction) everywhere. Things are not marked well and was confusing. It is easy to believe you are lost. Unless you really, REALLY, REALLY want to see the cliff dwellers, or, you just enjoy climbing up and down mountains behind slow traffic, skip this park.