Parking
Use the signed Square Tower House Overlook parking stop on Mesa Top Loop Road. The path starts beside the parking area.
Overview
About Square Tower House Overlook Trail
Why go
- Close overhead view into a well-preserved cliff dwelling
- A quick paved stop on Mesa Top Loop
Heads up
- This walk ends at the overlook; it does not enter the dwelling
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Mesa Verde map
Full mapElevation6,848–6,857 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
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 Square Tower House 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
Square Tower House and Navajo Canyon0:00 / 0:35
“You're approaching the overlooks for Square Tower House and Navajo Canyon. Keep Square Tower House on your list if you came for cliff dwellings: a short paved walk gives you a view down into the rooms.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Mesa Verde Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Mesa Top Sites and Early Pueblo Villages
- Pithouse
- Fire Temple and Oak Tree House Overlooks
- Sun Point Pueblo and Sun Point View
- 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 Square Tower House Overlook Trail
A short look into the roomsSquare Tower House Overlook is a paved out-and-back from a roadside parking stop to a…
Square Tower House Overlook is a paved out-and-back from a roadside parking stop to a bird's-eye view of an Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwelling. Plan on about 0.2 mile round trip: the path runs roughly 200 yards to the overlook, then back the same way. Allow about 15 minutes to walk it and look around. It is an easy, worthwhile detour if you want to see a dwelling from above without booking a tour.
What to look forThe view looks into rooms tucked beneath a sandstone alcove.
The view looks into rooms tucked beneath a sandstone alcove. The dwelling contains the park's tallest standing structure, an intact roof over a kiva, original plaster and paint, and plentiful rock art. From the rim, use a little phone zoom to pick out the tower and the shape of the rooms. Later afternoon can give the dwelling more light than midday, when it may sit in shadow.
Parking and accessPark at the signed Square Tower House Overlook stop on Mesa Top Loop Road; the path starts…
Park at the signed Square Tower House Overlook stop on Mesa Top Loop Road; the path starts beside the parking area. The paved walk has a slight slope. A short section near the parking end is mapped as steps, so step-free access is uncertain; check with the park if wheelchair access matters. Pets are not allowed on this trail.
If you want to go insideThis path ends at the overlook.
This path ends at the overlook. Going down to the dwelling is a separate ranger-led tour that requires a reservation and involves a steep descent, uneven steps and ladders. The view from above is the quick, no-tour option.
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.
