The Far View Trail is a 0.75 mile loop that visits 6 excavated sites in one of the most populated areas of Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. In the 2011 summer season, there are ranger led hikes on the Far View Trail on Mondays and Fridays at 4:00 PM.
The north end of the loop leads to the unusual Megalithic House. Megalithic House uses large stones as part of the building style. At first, these large stones were the only evidence that something was here. Megalithic House is considered to be the home of one clan. The cluster of structures includes a kiva and several other rooms.
The Far View area is at an elevation of about 7800 feet. This elevation is about the limit for growing corn in this region. The advantage is that there is more moisture at higher elevation but the growing season is shorter and has to be timed carefully to avoid frosts.
What is unusual about Megalithic House is that the stone work in the kiva appears to be very fine while the work on the other buildings appears to be very course. Also, the floor of the kiva penetrates into the bedrock, very difficult to accomplish working by hand. The guided tour of Far View stays on the main trail and doesn’t visit any of the 50 village sites that are unexcavated. The total guided hike lasts about 1:00 hour.
