Welcome to Travel Tuesday! I’m still [virtually] in Colorado this week and will be taking you for a tour of Balcony House over in Mesa Verde National Park!
Balcony House Tour in Mesa Verde National Park
Address/Location: Balcony House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330
Admission Fee: $7
The tour starts over at the Balcony House parking lot, which is about an hour + 15 minute drive from the visitor center (please plan accordingly!)!
Balcony House can only be explored by a ranger-led tour. Tickets can be purchased at the Mesa Verde National Park Visitor + Research Center. You can view the schedule here and purchase tickets here!
It has 40 different rooms, so it’s considered a medium-sized dwelling. The tour does involve a bit of climbing (up two 17-foot ladders + one 32-foot ladder) as well crawling through a 12 foot long tunnel. As such, this is known as the more adventurous cliff dwelling tour, but it’s open to all ages!
About to crawl through the tunnel!
(I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who was super afraid of heights or claustrophobic, but if it’s only a minor fear, you should be okay! You do need to be able to walk + climb though!)
A view from the tour!
Things to keep in mind:
- Please don’t touch the ruins!
- Try to book your tour as early as possible because they definitely do fill up. You can make reservations online.
- Tours are typically offered from late April to mid-October.
- Have you ever visited Mesa Verde National Park?
- What’s the last guided tour you went on?
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This is absolutely stunning! Thank you for the virtual tour. I have never been here before! I think the last guided tour I went on was on my trip to Peru. I think there is something so special and important about having a knowledgable guide when exploring ruins.
Thank you! :] I’ve never been to Peru but that’s definitely on my travel bucket list! It’s definitely super helpful—I wouldn’t have known 85% of the things he told us about!
I’ve been to Colorado a few times, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Balcony House before! I love history, so I definitely want to make sure I explore it the next time I’m in Colorado!
Ah, you’d definitely love this place then! :] I love Colorado too—super looking forward to going back someday!!
The tunnel sounds scary, but fun! I’m not sure how I would do – I don’t love heights and can get Claustrophobia. It seems like a great experience!
Ah, this one might be harder to do then, but there’s so much in that park to explore! I’d love to hopefully go back someday! :]
wow can’t believe there are 40 rooms in there! looks like a great hike
It was a fun adventure! :]
Mesa Verde is such a neat National Park to explore. I did not get to see the Balcony House when we went because it was under construction, so I’d like to do it next time.
Oo, I hope you get to go there next time! I didn’t get to do the Long House your this time around, so I’d love to check that out next time!
I’ve never been here, but there are so many little gems to be seen in the USA! Thank you for bringing us on this tour! The Southwest especially is gorgeous.
– Lily
Anytime! :D It was so much fun to explore the Southwest–I’d love to go back!!