Spruce Tree House Ruins Trail

Spruce Tree House at Mesa Verde is the third largest cliff dweller ruin and is a favorite as it is located near a variety of visitor services including the Chapin Mesa Museum, gift shop, and food service.

There is a paved trail leading down into Spruce Tree Canyon. This trail also is the starting point for the Petroglyph Trail and the Spruce Canyon Trail. Many of the common plants growing in the canyon are also identified along the paved trail. There is a trail guide available that provides interpretation for the site. Many of the plants along the trail are identified with comments on their possible uses.

The first courtyard represents an area where people lived and worked on good weather days. The three story wall fronts about 20 rooms accessed through the rectangular and key hole shaped openings. There is a layer of soot on the cave ceiling and a kiva in the foreground.

Kivas are thought to have been the center of spiritual activity and also as a work area and social gathering place. They are designed to give good ventilation, as opposed to the other rooms. Fresh air was drawn in through a ventilation shaft and deflected around the room. Roof beams were supported by the six pilasters distributed around the circle. There appears to be eight kivas as part of the Spruce Tree House site. Three of the Spruce Tree House kivas have reconstructed roofs and one can be entered.

The section on the right is one of the rare places where some modern reconstruction was done to prevent further collapse. Most of the sites have only had some minor work done for stabilization.

The view that the people had living here while standing in the plaza was pleasant, very green and sheltered, with the tall Douglas Firs looming overhead. A small spring provided water for this site and aided the plant growth.

There are two historic inscriptions to look for at Spruce Tree House. The Nordenskiold No. 1 is found near the left rim of the kiva that is discussed at stop 6 on the self guided tour. Nordenskiold was the first scientist to examine Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings in 1891. The Nordenskiold No. 15 is easy to see at Long House on Wetherill Mesa. One of the short trails on Wetherill Mesa is named the Nordenskiold No. 16 Trail, but the inscription isn’t visible. 

Near the right end of the alcove the John Wetherill initials JW are visible. John Wetherill ranged far in the Four Corners area and left initials in many locations.

Petroglyph Trail Canyon Views

The interpretive Petroglyph Trail travels a 2.4 mile loop below and above the rim of Spruce Canyon in the Chapin Mesa area of Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado.. The trailhead is at the Chapin Mesa Museum and begins with the paved descent to Spruce Tree House. When hiking in the morning, most of this hike is in the shade of the cool canyon.

There are 34 stops along the trail, emphasizing the plants of the canyon and mesa top and their possible uses to the people and wildlife that live here. The main trees are Pinon Pines, Utah Junipers, and Gambel Oaks with Douglas Firs in the cool shady parts of the canyon. 

The mix of shrubs can vary with subtle factors such as facing north or south and the soils. Most of the shrubs that occur at Mesa Verde are pointed out along this trail.

The trail leads to at least three alcoves as it winds its way south just under the canyon rim. One of the alcoves has some small ruins structures. The under the rim route has many steps that have been engineered or carved to make traveling easier, but it is still slow going and rocky, with many ups and downs. The tricky footing, the shade of the tall trees and the wide views encourage stopping and viewing the natural features.

There are several places where the trail squeezes through narrow cracks in the sandstone cliffs. Across the canyon there are alcoves visible, with binoculars, that have ruins sites. Looking back up Spruce Canyon, the Thomas House ruin is visible. This site is above the Spruce Canyon Trail but isn't visible from the bottom of the canyon where the trail leads.

Further on is the junction with Navajo Canyon. The trail visible on the canyon floor leads to Spring House, a Ranger led hike that was offered in 2010 and 2011

. At the tip of the canyon junction Teakettle House is visible on the sandstone cliffs.

Beyond interpretive stop 20 and on to 26, the Navajo Watch Tower is visible across the canyon with binoculars. This is a tower at the top of a rounded knob to the right of the drainage, in the first layer of cliffs below the rim layer. It is also visible on the ranger led hike to Spring House.

The highlight of the trail is the petroglyph panel at the far end of the loop. This is a medium sized panel, and is the best known in Mesa Verde. This one is a little unusual in that there are comments in the trail guide offering some interpretation. 

This panel does not seem to be associated with a large ruins site and it not at an obvious canyon junction. Just past the petroglyph panel the trail climbs back to the rim and returns back toward the Chapin Mesa Museum area. (There is a separate post with more views and the interpretation. Use the Petroglyph Trail label to find.)

After the Petroglyph, the trail climbs to the mesa top and loops back toward the trail head. From the mesa top view, Echo House is visible in a large alcove back to the south. The mesa top trail segment is mostly level and smooth.

In the final segment, there are views of the small storage ruins at the head of the Spruce Tree House side canyon. My hike took 2:00 hours for the 2.4 miles on a 75 F degree late July morning.

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.

Badger House Trail on Wetherill Mesa

The Badger House Trail is a 0.75 mile one way paved route that visits four sites on Wetherill Mesa in Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. These sites trace some of the development in architecture and living styles of the Ancestral Pueblo People who lived here until mysteriously vanishing around 1300 AD. There is a trail guide with 13 stops and there are also interpretive signs along the trail.

You can hike through the burned forest to the trail head for the Badger House Trail which is about 0.5 miles from the tram parking area. The Nordenskiold No. 16 Trail is in the same vicinity. The tram also stops at both ends of the trail.

The first stop on the trail is the Pithouse from about 650 AD. This structure marked the change in life style from nomadic hunting to permanent habitation. This example has a large room and an area that is thought to be for storage. These were covered over with a wood frame and plastered with mud. The entrance was through the roof.

The second site to visit is the Pueblo Village. From about 750 AD the storage rooms began expanding into several rooms. These structures were more adobe with the beginnings of rock masonry that developed later. This site has a Great Kiva where the soil layers tell some of its story. The size of this Kiva indicates that is was probably a center for a wider group of people that just this set of room blocks.

The Badger House site, the third of the four on this trail, has the longest kiva and tower tunnel connection yet to be found in the southwest.

The tunnel here extends for 41 feet. The connection of kivas with towers seems to be common but it is not known why. Current day Pueblo people still use kivas but not towers. The stone work here is thought to be from the 1200s.

The confusing arrangement of walls is explained as a site that was built on top of an older site. It is thought that much of the above ground material was moved elsewhere, maybe to Long House.

Two Raven House is the last site on the Badger House Trail. This site is thought to have been occupied from the 900s to the 1100s. It has two unusual features. There is a small circular room that resembles a miniature kiva. Some sites have great kivas but this is a rare mini kiva. There is also evidence for a fence built around the plaza area, maybe as a windbreak, or to fence in or out their domestic turkeys.

Hikers can return to the trailhead on foot or catch the tram at the end of the trail. There are two short overlook trails to Kodak House and Long House that can only be reached by riding the tram. Hiking from the Wetherill Kiosk and returning, without other stops took me 1:10 hours.

Chapin Mesa Wildflowers in Early May

On May 2, I hiked several of the short trails on Chapin Mesa in Mesa Verde National Park, looking for the early spring wildflowers. The Chapin Mesa bookstore has a small field guide available, “Wildflowers of Mesa Verde”, for $11.95.

Some of the major trees and shrubs and a few wildflowers are identified by small signs along the paved trail leading down to Spruce Tree House. The printed trail guide for the Petroglyph Trail identifies many Mesa Verde plants using the numbered stops.

In early May, the most conspicuous flower is the white five petaled blossom of the Utah Serviceberry, the most common shrub in Mesa Verde. This member of the Rose Family was particularly abundant in the Far View area and on the Far View Sites Trail. A plant that Serviceberry resembles in size and shape is Mountain Mahogany, also in the Rose Family. The Mountain Mahogany has small inconspicuous flowers but has distinctive corkscrew fruits.

Closer to the Chapin Mesa Visitor Center area, the more eye catching flowering shrub is the Bitterbrush in the Rose Family displaying small yellow flowers. There are many of these around the Visitor Center and a few on the upper part paved trail leading to Spruce Tree House.

Despite how abundant it is, I didn't see a small sign identifying it. Bitterbrush can be confused with Cliff Rose. I have seen Cliff Rose in dry canyons such as Sand Canyon, west of Cortez, CO, but I don’t think I have seen it at Mesa Verde.

Fendlerbush has large four petaled white flowers and is a member of the Hydrangea Family. I saw several of these on the Farming Terrace Trail near the series of check dams. The blooms seemed to be just starting on the day I hiked.

Squaw Apple in the Rose Family has five white petals and from a distance could be confused with the Serviceberry. The leaves of Squaw Apples are long and slender compared to the more oval leaves of Serviceberry. I saw many Squaw Apples in the rim area and short trail to the Square Tower Overlook on the Mesa Top Pithouse to Pueblo Tour.

Arrowleaf Balsamroots in the Sunflower Family were visible along the main park road from the Park Point area and south toward Far View. I saw several bunches of these on the Far View Sites Trail. There is a similar looking plant called Mule’s Ears that blooms later and has slightly different leaves.

One of the eye catching flowers on the Spruce Tree House paved trail is Firecracker Penstemon in the Snapdragon Family. I also saw these growing in a kiva at Square Tower House and on the Soda Canyon Trail.

Oregon Grape in the Barberry Family is abundant and conspicuous at the canyon bottom below Spruce Tree House. It is one of the ones that is identified with a small sign. Many of these plants produce small fruits that are good wildlife food.

I saw Chokecherry in the Rose Family in a small patch on the exit path of the Spruce Tree House Trail, past the ruins site but before the canyon bottom where the Oregon Grape was visible.

The printed guide to wildflowers says that there at least 13 species of Milkvetch at Mesa Verde. I saw this example on the Soda Canyon Trail that leads to the overlook of Balcony House.

The Soda Canyon Trail also had some good patches of Phlox. This is another plant where there are several species but the flowers tend to look the same.

My total wildflower hike included the Far View, Farming Terrace, Spruce Tree House, Square Tower Overlook, and Soda Canyon Trails. These are short trails that seem to vary in habitat enough to produce a variety of early spring wildflowers.