Cliff Canyon Overlooks

The Cliff Canyon overlooks are south of the famous Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. During the winter season, the six mile Cliff Palace Loop at Mesa Verde is usually closed to vehicles, but can still be hiked or cross country skied. During the busy summer season, most visitors pass quickly by the Cliff Canyon view points after visiting Cliff Palace or heading to Balcony House.

 I snow shoe hiked part of the Cliff Palace Loop in late January. In 2011, the snow has been groomed for easy snow shoe walking and skiing. At the lasso part of the loop, I stayed right and visited the Cliff Palace overlook and the two Cliff Canyon overlooks. It took me about 0:45 minutes to arrive at the Cliff Palace trailhead. In winter, there are also view points of Cliff Palace from Sun Point and Sun Temple on the west side of Cliff Canyon.

The first viewpoint south of Cliff Palace is the Cliff Canyon Overlook. Across the canyon is Sun Point on the Mesa Top Tour, which is one of the best ruins view points in the region, with up to 12 ruins sites visible. To the right is a side view of part of Sunset House. Looking across the canyon, there are three small ruins sites visible. Sun Point Dwelling has only three rooms along a narrow ledge over a 100 foot drop off. To the left of Sun Point Dwelling is Site 634 with 16 rooms and 2 kivas.

Along this segment there are some views up Fewkes Canyon with some side views of Oak Tree House and the Sun Temple. The best views of the several Fewkes Canyon ruins sites are along the Mesa Top Tour.

A short distance further south is a view of the House of Many Windows. The multiple openings are actually doors. The site is thought to have 11 rooms and maybe a kiva. I turned around at the House of Many Windows overlook and returned the way I came. My total snow shoe hike was 2:30 hours for about 4 miles on a 35 F late January day. It had been 4 weeks since 2 feet of snow had fallen and there had been some melting without any additional snow.

Cliff Palace Loop in Winter

The Cliff Palace Loop is the 6 mile loop road that leads to the popular Cliff Palace and Balcony House tours during the summer season at Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. During the winter the road is closed to vehicles, but has been groomed for cross country skiing and snow shoe hiking. I think this is a new feature for the 2011 winter season.

There is room to park in the vicinity of the closed gate without blocking it. It is about 1.25 miles along the two way road section to the beginning of the loop. Staying to the right leads another 0.25 miles to the Cliff Palace Trailhead where there are overlooking views of the most famous Mesa Verde cliff dwelling site.

The first segment along the trail passes through a forest area that was burned during the forest fires in 2000 and then normal forest borders the trail. The snow shoe hiking was easy on the groomed surface. At the loop, I took the left fork and continued about 0.25 miles to the Soda Canyon Trail. It took me 0.45 minutes to arrive at the Soda Canyon Trailhead.
 

The Soda Canyon Trail is a 1.2 mile round trip to overlooks that offer the only views of Balcony House. The trail wasn’t groomed but the route was mostly easy to follow as a wide lane passing through the Juniper and Pinon Pine forest. I got a little confused at the point where the trail crosses a drainage and then turns south. The snow hiking here was harder, with most of my steps sinking in about six inches.

Balcony House doesn't get much direct sunlight in the winter but does appear to provide shelter from the several feet of snow that the area receives. The view is from a distance, but the famous ladder and some of the features can be spotted from the overlook.
 

I spent 0:55 minutes on the Soda Canyon Trail and my total hike took 2:20 hours on a 28 F degree sunny mid January day. I didn't complete the 6 mile loop, but returned the way I came for a total of about 4.2 miles. No one else was using the trail during my hike.