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With respect, imagination, and understanding this large mound of rubble covered with vegetation offers insight to an ancient vibrant community.
NPS
2025 Tours of
Yucca House National Monument
Join Mesa Verde National Park rangers on a tour of Yucca House National Monument. This large, unexcavated Ancestral Puebloan site has remained largely untouched for the past 800 years. Its massive structures and central location in the Montezuma Valley suggest it may have acted as an important community center for the Ancestral Puebloan people from 1150 to 1300 CE.
Why Is it Important?
Originally designated in 1919 at 9.5 acres, Yucca House National Monument expanded to approximately 33 acres in 1996 through a donation by Hallie Ismay. Following a generous 160-acre gift from Bernard and Nancy Karwick, the monument now encompasses roughly 194 acres, significantly enhancing preservation of ancestral villages and access to natural desert habitats.
What to Expect
The easy to moderate 2-hour, 1/2 mile (0.8 km) walk is along a mostly level, unpaved path. The trail is rocky in places. For your safety wear long pants, aand sturdy hiking shoes. Total tour time, including safety messages and carpooling to Yucca House, is 3 hours.
Yucca House National Monument is located eight miles south of Cortez, Colorado. You will meet at the Colorado Welcome Center in Cortez for a brief orientation talk, then carpool to the site. Carpooling is required due to limited parking on private land.
Four tours will be offered with a limit of 10 people per tour. All tours begin at 8:45 am at the Colorado Welcome Center.
Sunday October 5, 2025
Sunday October 12, 2025
Saturday October 18, 2025
Sunday, October 19, 2025
Reservations for this free tour are required – call 970-529-5037 to register.
