Mesa Verde Hiking

Today, we drove about 6 hours to Mesa Verde National Park. Along the way we stopped in Pagosa Springs, CO for some great coffee. Then a drive through Carson National Forest and the windy roads, then through the San Juan National Forest with even more up and down winding roads. The scenery was different and lots of flat valley areas between the mountains covered in pine trees. In the valleys there were a lot of horse and cow ranches where the land is more flat.
Once we arrived in Mesa Verde we drove up and took a short hike to the tallest outlook point in the park. It is used for wildfire and monsoonal rain lookout from the ranger station at the top.
Then we traveled back down by car and hiked up a short trail that is just over one mile in and one mile back out. It is short but the elevation change was 650 feet and the summit was 8,500 feet (according to my GPS). The views of the park from the top and all along the way were just incredible. Parkland as far as you can see. The pictures describe it far better than any words...
Then back to the car for our lodge in the park and dinner.Read more