COSights

Photogenic Places in Mancos

4 places · Ranked by scenic score

All (40)Boulder (2)Morrison (1)Denver (4)Fort Collins (1)Estes Park (5)Cortez (1)Grand Lake (2)Ward (1)Creede (1)Silverton (1)Telluride (3)Fruita (3)Dolores (2)Towaoc (1)Breckenridge (2)Keystone (1)Vail (1)Lake City (1)Dillon (1)Frisco (1)Mancos (4)Durango (1)
Visitors stand on a stone overlook above Cliff Palace, with metal railings and canyon vegetation in the foreground. Across the wide sandstone canyon, sunlit cliff walls and alcoves stretch under a bright afternoon sky with scattered clouds.
Photogenic
44

Mancos, CO

Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America, containing approximately 150 rooms and 23 kivas built by Ancestral Puebloans around 1190-1260 CE. The alcove structure is nestled beneath a massive sandstone overhang in a canyon wall within Mesa Verde National Park. The site is accessible only via ranger-guided tours during the open season.

afternoonspring · summer
A bright pink historic wooden house with white shutters and a wraparound balcony stands on a sunny street, with palm trees and a clear blue sky behind it. The low morning light casts long shadows across the pavement and highlights the weathered siding and porch details.
Photogenic
44

Mancos, CO

Balcony House

Balcony House is one of the most dramatic cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park, accessible only by climbing a 32-foot ladder and crawling through a narrow tunnel. The site contains about 40 rooms and two kivas tucked into a south-facing alcove on the cliff face. The approach provides striking views down Soda Canyon.

morningspring · summer
Wide view of Spruce Tree House tucked into a deep sandstone alcove, with pale cliff walls stretching across the top and rows of tan cliff dwellings and kivas visible in the shade below. Ponderosa pines and scrub frame the canyon foreground, with a few visitors appearing small against the ruins.
Photogenic
44

Mancos, CO

Spruce Tree House

Spruce Tree House is the third-largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde, containing about 130 rooms and 8 kivas built between 1211 and 1278 CE. The site sits in a deep alcove in Spruce Tree Canyon near the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum. Rock fall concerns have periodically restricted access, but the dwelling can be viewed and photographed from the overlook.

morningspring · summer
A wooden rail overlooks a sunlit mesa edge at Mesa Verde, with scrubby green pines in the foreground and a wide view across a deep canyon cut between pale sandstone cliffs. Bright afternoon light and towering cumulus clouds make the rugged landscape feel expansive and dramatic.
Photogenic
44

Mancos, CO

Mesa Verde Sun Temple

Sun Temple is a D-shaped ceremonial structure on the mesa top in Mesa Verde National Park that was never completed before the Ancestral Puebloans departed the area around 1300 CE. The double-walled masonry construction is among the finest stonework at Mesa Verde. The site sits on a prominent point between Cliff Canyon and Fewkes Canyon with views to the cliff dwellings below.

afternoonspring · summer