Manitou Cliff Dwellings

Manitou Cliff Dwellings in Manitou Springs, CO

October 13, 2020

My mom came to visit me in October, so naturally, you think of every strange place you have yet to go to in your local area. This was one of those “strange” not so strange places with a lot of really cool history. Manitou Cliff Dwellings is located just west of Colorado Springs and a few minutes past Garden of the Gods. There is a small fee to enter, but there really weren't many people, leaving so much room to see things and move around.

Fun Facts

Cost: $12 per Adult and $7.50 per child (Dogs are welcomed)
View: Cliff Dwellings
Don’t Miss: The visitors center and gift shop (yes, DO NOT miss the gift shop)
Note: The cliff dwellings are fake but were made to resemble the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park.
Fun Fact: The Anasazi evolved from nomads who lived in temporary dwellings to become accomplished farmers.

Although these cliff dwellings are only a small replica of Mesa Verde National Park, they are very old. Manitou Cliff Dwellings opened in 1907 as a museum, and no actual Indians lived in these particular dwellings. It was still fun to see how they lived in such small spaces. Once you park, you can go where you want within the property.

The dwellings are open entirely to walk through, climb on, and understand how Indians once lived. When you walk through the dwellings' first entrance, you will see hieroglyphs on rock surfaces and different types of stone that were used to make the structures.

There are rooms after rooms you walk through, and all of them have a story. Shown above is what is known as the Kiva, which is used for political meetings. It is kept warm by a fire, and the small cubbies are used to store sacred items. Windows are made of sticks that are molded into the stones with clay. The room itself is impressive for the era it was made.

Walkways were etched in the rock on the far back of the dwellings and rooms were located off of those hallways.

All areas in Manitou Cliff Dwellings can be explored, and all ladders can be climbed, making it an experience unforgettable.

When you walk up to the cliff dwellings, you are stunned by the stone structures' architecture. The way they are built into the cliff walls and how tall they can be, and just to know it was all made by hand.

Inside the walls and down the hallways, there are windows and tiny doorways that were made to crawl through and different levels made from large logs that were molded into the stones.

Pictured below are some viewable items in the museum found in Indian pueblos in Colorado. Many relics such as bowls, horsehair made ropes, stone cut blades, and even small children’s toys. After you are finished walking through the museum, make sure to make your way into the gift shop that spans over two floors. There are so many creative gifts at excellent prices, I typically walk past the gift shop at places like this, but this was indeed a perfect one.

We spent about two to three hours on the grounds walking through the dwellings, touring the museum, and looking through the gift shop. The gate price was low for the value of entertainment provided, and we all had fun acting like Indians in those few hours. Make a stop at the Manitou Cliff Dwellings if you are in the Colorado Springs area.