What facilities are available at Yucca House?
There are no visitor facilities or services available, such as gasoline, food, water, or bathrooms. The closest gasoline and lodging are in Cortez, CO. Pets and camping are not allowed in Yucca House National Monument. Motor vehicles are allowed only on roadways, at pullouts, or in parking areas. Please pack out what you take in.
What will I see at Yucca House?
You will see two areas with large mounds of rubble covered with vegetation. Toward the base of Ute Mountain is the “West Complex,” a large pueblo with an estimated 600 rooms, over 100 kivas, and a great kiva (that perhaps served the entire community). A productive spring flows through the middle of the complex. “Upper House,” the highest portion of the West Complex, rises 15 to 20 feet above the nearby architecture, dominating the surrounding landscape. It must have been an impressive building. To your east is the “Lower House” with some of the only visible standing masonry at the site. The “Lower House” is an L-shaped pueblo with at least eight first-story rooms. A low wall encloses the plaza with a great kiva at its center. Yucca House, one of the largest archeological sites in southwest Colorado, acted as an important community center for the Ancestral Puebloan people from A.D. 1150-1300.
Can I get my National Park Passport stamped at Yucca House?
No, but the cancellation stamp is available at the front desk of the Chapin Mesa Museum at Mesa Verde National Park.
