Mesa Verde National Park

Permit Information

NPS Special Use Permit required. Weddings of any size allowed with an approved permit. Applications require a minimum of 3 weeks to process. Fees are non refundable and based on annual cost recovery analysis. Contact the Permit Office at 970 529 4611 for current fee amounts. Payment via cashier's check, money order, personal check, or credit card via pay.gov.

Planning Your Day at Mesa Verde National Park

One-Spot Day

Mesa Verde covers 52,000 acres on top of a mesa in southwest Colorado, the park road climbs 2,000 feet from the entrance to Chapin Mesa and Wetherill Mesa. For ceremonies, Chapin Mesa is the infrastructure center with the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum, Cliff Palace, and Sun Temple all in a tight cluster. Wetherill Mesa is a 12 mile drive from Chapin and closes in winter. Park Point fire lookout is 7 miles from the entrance and sits at the highest elevation (8,572 feet) with 360 degree views into four states. For a single day, anchor at Chapin Mesa and do Sun Temple for ceremony plus Park Point for portraits, the two are 20 minutes apart by car. The actual cliff dwellings require guided tours and cannot be used for ceremonies, you see them from the overlooks.

Ceremony + Portraits Split

Every ceremony requires an NPS Special Use Permit, weddings of any size allowed with approval, up to 20 guests in practice. Applications need minimum 3 weeks processing. Fees are non refundable and based on annual cost recovery analysis, contact the Permit Office at 970 529 4611 for the current fee (has historically been in the $100 to $200 range). Payment via cashier's check, money order, personal check, or credit card via Pay.gov. Ceremonies cannot take place inside the cliff dwellings themselves, these are protected cultural resources and guided tour only. Overlooks and the Sun Temple plaza are the approved settings. Be respectful of cultural and archaeological significance, this is a living landscape for modern Pueblo peoples whose ancestors built these structures.

A Note on Light

Mesa Verde sits at 7,000 to 8,600 feet elevation, which gives you Rocky Mountain light quality, thin clear air, saturated blue sky, and strong directional sun. The sandstone used in the cliff dwellings is warmest at sunrise and sunset when direct sun catches the stonework, the dwellings themselves fall into deep shadow during midday because they sit under overhangs. For overlook ceremonies (Sun Temple, Park Point, Cliff Palace Overlook), midday works well because you need sun on the canyon walls. Spring (April through May) brings wildflowers, fall (September through October) brings aspen gold in the higher elevations. Summer afternoons are hot and often feature thunderstorms, morning ceremonies are easier. Winter closes Wetherill Mesa and some overlook roads, but Chapin Mesa remains accessible and snow on the cliff dwellings is rare and striking when it happens.

Ceremony Spots at Mesa Verde National Park

• Sun Temple Overlook — Ceremony beside an ancient ceremonial structure with sweeping views of Cliff Palace and Spruce Tree Canyon
• Park Point — Highest point in the park with 360 degree views spanning four states and distant mountain ranges