step house

Step House is one of our favorite dwellings in the park. Our first few trips to Mesa Verde, we never made it to Weathermill Mesa. Big mistake. Step House is a self guided tour that gives you the opportunity to climb around one of the cliff dwellings with no tours or crowds. It was a beautiful hike down and there was a ranger on site to answer questions. The road to Weathermill Mesa has limited hours, so make sure you allow yourself about 45 minutes to an hour to tour Step House. The tram around the rest of the area is a great way to see other ruins and dwellings. And it's free. Try to spot the wild horses roaming the mesa. There is a shelter with a gift shop, info station, and snack shop at the Step House trailhead/tram stop.

This was our first dwelling upon hitting the park. It was the perfect way to introduce us to the park and the various dwellings. Do this one before Balcony or Cliff Palace.

I admit that I saw Step House as an afterthought while waiting for the tram to Long House. My idea was that it could not have been very impressive or they would be charging for guided tours as they do for the other accessible dwellings in the park (apart from Spruce Tree House). Boy, was I wrong! Step House, so named because of the Ancestral Pueblo stairway up to the cliff (which is unique to this site), provides fine examples of all the features one can see on the more restrictive tours, including well-preserved kivas and towers. Also unique to this site are the remains of two pit houses dug centuries before the cliff dwellings were built and excavated apart from the rest of Step House. There are several pit houses visible on the Top Mesa Loop or in Badger Village, but these are the only ones on the same level as the cliff dwellings. One pit house is partially reconstructed, giving a reasonable approximation of how the Ancestral Puebloans lived before building the cliff dwellings.Ranger Deb at the site (former assistant curator of a nearby museum) provided insightful details that provided a fine supplement to the talks at other sites. The site is not crowded like Spruce Tree House and does not have the time constraints of Cliff Palace, Balcony House, or Long House, so the visitor is allowed a great deal more freedom to explore and individual attention from the ranger than one would get elsewhere in the park. Given this flexibility afforded the visitor, as well as the remarkably diverse aspects of the site, I am tempted to say that this might be the one cliff dwelling you would want to visit if time is a factor.

This cliff dwelling is smaller than Long House but provides a scenic hiking trail (1 mile round trip). There were more pictographs at this location. It is a self guided trail though there was a ranger on site (to preempt vandalism) that offered a personal treat by showing us around. The climb back up is somewhat steep but the most of the trail is paved and there are plenty of benches for rest stops. Definitely worth a visit and it is accessible by trail right off the point where you meet the ranger for the guided Long House tour. Starting point has a covered pavilion, snack shop, restrooms and free water fountains.

Moderate hike from the road, but this dwelling is beautiful and accessible on your own. Plan accordingly because it has limited hours, but worth the stop!

After Long House, plan to visit Step House which is easily accessed and quite lovely. Not overwhelmed by the hordes who only spend a few hours visiting Chapin Mesa's Cliff Palace and Spruce House, this site is more evocative of the lives of its inhabitants.

Step House is on Wetherill Mesa, which is only open Memorial Day-Labor Day. Drive out to Wetherill and park near the kiosk. You can walk to Step House following the paved trail. Entrance is free (unlike Long House which requires a $3/pp ticket sold at the entrance to the park in the Visitor and Research Center). There's a ranger stationed in the site to answer questions about the site's history from pit houses to cliff dwelling. Take water. Trail is a loop. Not accessible.

beautiful little hike to another cliff dwelling. If you go all the way out to see Long House make sure to see Step House as well. It doesn't take long and worth the time!