Mug House Kivas

During the 2012 summer season, Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado is offering special hikes to the Mug House ruins site on Wetherill Mesa. These 2 mile round trip hikes are on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays between May 27 and September 2 and begin at 10:00 AM from the Wetherill Kiosk.

The cost is $25 and reservations are required. Group sizes are limited to 10. This hike was offered during the 2010 season but not in 2011.

It takes about 0:20 minutes of walking to arrive at the Mug House alcove. There are some minor sites to visit along the way. (See the post from 2010 that shows an overview of the hike, use the Mug House labels to find.)  Mug House has about 100 rooms and 8 kivas. The kivas provide some clues to the development of the site. On the left side of the site there are three kivas that can be viewed. 

We were able to climb up and stand between the second and third kiva. The second kiva is thought to represent the first occupation of the Mug House site. The kiva is thought to be associated with the room blocks that are on the ledges above.

Turning around, the third kiva is thought to represent a later construction. This one is notable for all the layers of plaster that are visible.

Both the second and third kivas have a keyhole shape, a recess in one end. The third kiva has three surface shafts visible. The one to the right is for ventilation and the one to the left is an entry. The middle one doesn’t have a apparent use. It looks like a small fire pit is in the corner of the walls.

The right side of Mug House is separate from the left side in that there are no internal passages. One of the right side kivas has an obvious double wall construction style.

Also on the right side is a kiva that seems to have an exaggerated keyhole recess. On a cold night the recess might be a good place to store firewood and other supplies.

There is another rounded square kiva on the right side that is too far back into the site to see. Mug House also has a tower structure at each end of the alcove. The Mug House hike takes 2:00 hours. Most of the overall time is in shade. There were seven hikers on the tour I took along with two Rangers. I carried one liter of water and snacks aren't allowed.