Sun Point Pueblo on the Mesa Top Tour

The Sun Point Pueblo is the sixth stop on the Mesa Top Pithouse to Pueblo Tour at Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. This area of Chapin Mesa is part of the park that is kept open all winter. The road and short trails to the Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites are kept clear of snow and provide a hard surface for walking when other trails are muddy or snow covered.

I started my hike at the parking area for the third stop Square Tower House and visited the other sites toward the Sun Point View Point area. The sequence of ruins sites on the Mesa Top Loop traces the history of building styles in the Mesa Verde area from 600 to 1300 AD.

 In the winter season, there isn’t much traffic and this is a pleasant walk with thick Pinon Pine and Juniper forest on both sides of the road. The Sun Point Pueblo is partly sheltered in an open sided building.

The key feature of the Sun Point Pueblo is the Tower and Kiva combination in the center of the village. Surrounding the Tower and Kiva are the outlines of 15 rooms. The interpretive sign in the shelter has a diagram showing the entire site.

The Tower and Kiva combination is one of several that can be viewed at Mesa Verde. Cedar Tree Tower and Far View Tower, also on Chapin Mesa are similar. There is also an example on the Badger House Trail on Wetherill Mesa.

Sun Point Pueblo is missing much of its material and it is thought that some of it might have been moved to build the many alcove structures that are visible at the nearby Sun Point overlook. The Sun Point Pueblo is thought to have been occupied for only a short period of time, during the transition to the alcove sites

It is easy to overlook the room block outlines that are on both sides of the shelter building. It is thought that there may have been as many as 30 rooms here with a population of about 50.

On the way off the Mesa Top Loop I saw a coyote also strolling along the road. My hike on the Mesa Top Loop from stops 3 to 7 was on a sunny 40 F degree mid November day. There were patches of snow in shady spots in the forest. My hike took 1:30 hours for about 2 miles.