Parking
Use the Park Point parking area at the end of Park Point Road (MV 3); the paved trail starts at the lot. The park lists parking for autos and buses/RVs, picnic tables, and seasonal vault or composting toilets.
Overview
About Park Point Overlook Trail
Why go
- Wide Four Corners views from Mesa Verde’s highest point
- Short paved route with a historic working lookout
Heads up
- The pavement climbs very steeply
- Winter access depends on an unplowed road
Park Point Overlook Trail is an about 0.4-mile round trip from the Park Point parking area. It is a steep, paved out-and-back with two short viewpoints and the fire lookout at the top. Allow around 30 minutes to climb, visit both viewpoints, and look around. I'd stop if you want a big Four Corners view without setting aside half a day; it's a short walk, not an easy grade.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the quick summit stop for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Mesa Verde map
Full mapElevation8,504–8,547 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
2 active Mesa Verde alerts
- ClosureRoad improvements close Far View and Cedar Tree Tower access roadsAccess roads to Far View Sites and Cedar Tree Tower are temporarily closed to all traffic for road improvements.Official details
- CautionKnife Edge Trail rockfall area: do not enterDo not enter the rockfall area along the last quarter of Knife Edge Trail because a serious rockfall occurred there. - The trailhead is at Morefield Campground. - Knife Edge Trail is 2 miles (3.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mesa Verde Tour Guide
Your drive to Park Point Overlook Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Mesa Verde National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Park Point0:00 / 0:25
“Up ahead is Park Point, the park's highest viewpoint and a good stop for a wide view of the Four Corners country.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Mesa Verde Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Long Campaign for a Park
- The Falcon’s Hunting Dive
- The Jays That Plant Pines
- Geologic Overlook
- 43 audio storiesacross Mesa Verde’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Mule Deer, Golden Eagle, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 22 trails, 48 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Park Point Overlook Trail
Take both viewpointsThe paved path climbs past the lookout area to the southern viewpoint.
The paved path climbs past the lookout area to the southern viewpoint. Double back to the junction and follow the short northern spur, then retrace the route to the lot. Make time for both: the north side looks across canyons toward the San Juan Mountains, while the south opens toward New Mexico's high desert. From the summit, Sleeping Ute Mountain is west and the La Plata Mountains are east.
A lookout still at workThe Park Point Fire Lookout stands at Mesa Verde's highest point, 8,572 feet above sea level.
The Park Point Fire Lookout stands at Mesa Verde's highest point, 8,572 feet above sea level. It is still used during fire season to relay lightning, weather, and fire information for the park and surrounding area, so this is a working lookout as well as a historic one.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Mesa Verde
36 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
159 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
14 sightingsGolden EagleMost seen around noonSighting map
53 sightingsWild HorseMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
24 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
37 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Mesa Verde. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
