Mesa Verde National Park’s visitor facilities, museum, loop roads and several hiking trails reopened after U.S. agencies resumed operations last week and furloughed employees returned to work.
A park attendant at the front gate said Thursday that when the shutdown ended Nov. 12, staff began reopening facilities early the next day.
The Visitor and Research Center and the Mesa Verde Museum reopened by noon the next day and resumed normal hours Friday. The visitor center operates from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the museum from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Several areas closed during the 43-day shutdown also reopened. Cliff Palace Loop Road and the top loop road and hiking trails including Petroglyph Point, Spruce Tree House and Cedar Tree Tower are open from sunrise to sunset, which is about 5 p.m. now.
Morefield Campground, privately operated and open during the shutdown, is now closed for winter. The attendant said the campground typically reopens in early May, though dates vary.
While shutdown-related restrictions are lifted, the park still observes regular winter closures unrelated to funding or staffing. The western portion of the park – Wetherill Mesa, including Badger House Community and Step House – is closed until May. The long, narrow mesa surrounded by deep canyons offers views of 700 years of Ancestral Pueblo life but typically closes by October.
The attendant noted that some visitors mistakenly believe Step House, a cliff dwelling with Pueblo architecture, is open because it requires no tour, but its access road is gated for winter.
Mesa Verde’s main visitation season runs May through October, and visitation slows now except for leaf peepers and small holiday upticks around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
A gray, overcast sky hung over the park Thursday, a quieter scene than the bright morning when the shutdown first closed Mesa Verde and more than 30 cars and RVs lined up at the gate.
Travelers arriving at Mesa Verde during the shutdown adjusted plans but expressed disruption, from mild inconvenience to disappointment for those hoping to visit cliff dwellings or join ranger tours.
Thursday, only a few out-of-state vehicles passed as light rain fell and clouds blurred mesa tops.
National Forest Service data shows a seasonal drop in visitors. The park recorded nearly 89,000 recreational visits last June and roughly 96,500 in June 2023, compared with an average of 14,000 in November and 8,600 in December over five years.
The park service has not released 2025 numbers, but Superintendent Kayci Cook told Montezuma County commissioners in September: “Year-to-date visitation at the park is down just under 4%.”
During the 35-day federal shutdown of 2018–19, Mesa Verde was technically open but understaffed, and heavy snowfall contributed to an 8% annual visitation drop.
The main road, about 20 miles long, stayed open and free during this year’s shutdown, with no passes or vouchers accepted.
Main road access is available daily unless winter weather forces a closure, announced via hotline. Entrance booth staffing varies by personnel availability.
