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.
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