Mesa Verde's Far View Sites

We planned our trip to Mesa Verde National Park around our scheduled Cliff Palace tour, but one of the Mesa Verde attractions we were not aware of was the Far View Sites Complex.

The Mesa Verde National Park Self-Guided Tours page provides a brief description of the Far View Sites Complex, including this sentence: "This mesa top community includes Far View House, four other villages, and a dry reservoir."

There is also a dedicated Far View Sites web page that includes this summary sentence of one of the most positive attributes of the Far View Sites: "Today, several excavated and stabilized sites are linked by a trail system within a short walking distance."

The Self-Guided Tours page states that "the level, unpaved 3/4-mile trail (1.2 km) is open 8:00 am to sunset."

The Far View Sites web page adds more description of the structures that are visible at Far View Sites: "Far View House, Pipe Shrine House, Coyote Village, Far View Reservoir, Megalithic House, and Far View Tower."

Coyote Village was one of our favorites.

A good resource for a quick overview (with photographs) is the Far View Community Sites page.

The Far View Sites seemed less visited than the better known sites Cliff Palace and Long House, which is a good thing because the parking area is much smaller than at those sites. The parking area is essentially along a circular road next to the Far View Sites.

We are glad that we squeezed a visit in to the Far View Sites during our single very full day in Mesa Verde National Park.

The featured sites are near each other and make it is easy and quick to see them all. With far fewer people present, there's no need to wait for an opportunity to get a good position for taking photographs.