Point Lookout

Point Lookout is the sandstone-capped formation above Mesa Verde's entrance, reached on foot by steep switchbacks rather than a summit road. The 2.2-mile round trip starts beside Morefield Campground's Amphitheater Parking Lot, gains 400 feet and takes about two hours. It is rated moderate, though hikers often find the climb strenuous at this elevation. Leave time to catch your breath and look around at the top.

From the summit, the view reaches across Mancos and Montezuma valleys to the San Juan and La Plata Mountains. The historic entrance road winds up onto the mesa below. For a photo that explains the place, include a bend of that road beneath the far ridges; getting that frame means hiking up from the trailhead.

The Point Lookout Formation sits above Mancos Shale. As the Western Interior Seaway retreated and its water grew shallower, beach sands replaced the shale deposits. The tan-to-buff sandstone contains shale lenses; fossils recorded in the formation include clams, ammonites, crustaceans, driftwood and palm leaves. Geologists named the Mesaverde Group in 1875, with Point Lookout as its oldest formation.

The La Plata Mountains took shape during the Laramide mountain-building episode, which began about 65 million years ago. Magma pushed rock layers upward without erupting at the surface. On a clear day, those mountains are part of the far-reaching view from the summit.

This is a day-use hike; pets and bicycles are not allowed. Nearby cliff edges are unfenced and unstable, so stay on the route.