Long House Tour

Long House Tour is a 2.25-mile out-and-back from Wetherill Mesa parking, including the 0.75-mile walk each way to the ranger trailhead and the guided descent to the alcove. Budget about 115 to 135 minutes for the whole outing; the tour at the dwelling takes 90 minutes. This is the way to see Long House from inside, not just across the canyon. The tour is seasonal and ticketed; book the ranger-led tour before making the long drive to Wetherill. It is a strenuous hike, not a casual overlook walk.

The first leg is a 0.75-mile walk, about 20 minutes, from parking to the Long House meeting point. The paved path slopes down toward the trailhead; after the tour you retrace it uphill to the lot. It is easy walking compared with the canyon trail, but it adds 1.5 miles to the round trip and has little shade. Do not mistake the trailhead for the parking area when planning your time.

From the meeting point, the trail drops into the canyon toward the alcove. Expect an uneven path, a steep staircase and two 15-foot ladders. You descend about 130 feet and climb back out the same way. The distance is short enough to sound easy, but the ladders, steep steps, elevation and uphill return make this one of Mesa Verde's harder short hikes. The route is controlled by a ranger; follow the group's instructions through the site.

Long House runs 298 feet along the alcove and contains more than 150 rooms, several kivas, granaries, a broad plaza and a spring that still seeps. The ranger takes you past multiple levels and close to the rooms, so the scale is easier to grasp than it is from an overlook. For a photo, try to fit some of the masonry and the curve of the sandstone ceiling into the same frame; that gives a better sense of the place than a close shot of one wall.

Long House was excavated and stabilized from 1959 to 1961 as part of the Wetherill Mesa Archaeological Project. Its plaza is more than an open patch between rooms: benches, vaults and a raised firebox have led interpreters to suggest it may have hosted community gatherings, trade or ceremonies. Those are possibilities, not settled answers, which is part of what makes the ranger's explanation useful.

Wetherill Mesa is reached by a 12-mile winding road that takes about 30 to 45 minutes from the main park road. Visiting the area can take much of a day. Vehicles longer than 25 feet or heavier than 8,000 pounds are not allowed on Wetherill Road. Restrooms and a seasonal snack bar are back at the pavilion, not at the dwelling; water is limited on the trails, so fill up before you leave the lot.

Wetherill is around 7,240 feet high and the 2000 fire left the area with little shade. Heat and summer lightning are recurring concerns, so carry water and pay attention to the sky before starting the exposed walk. Dogs are not allowed on the trail into Long House. If ladders or the strenuous descent are not for you, the separate 2-mile Long House Overlook hike gives a view across the canyon but does not enter the dwelling.