Warning: I found a secret entrance at Mesa Verde that isn't on any map

I visited Mesa Verde National Park last October and noticed a small gap in the rock wall behind the Spruce Tree House that led to a hidden kiva not listed on the park brochure. The ranger I asked about it said it was likely a storage annex from the Ancestral Puebloans, but has anyone else stumbled on unmarked features at major dig sites?

2 comments

2 Comments

anderson.jason20d ago

Friend of mine who works out west told me he found a whole cluster of those little storage rooms behind Cliff Palace that aren't marked anywhere. He said the park service knows about them but keeps them off the maps to slow down looters and curious tourists messing with the site. It's wild how much more is hidden in plain sight out there.

samthompson20d ago

Worked at Mesa Verde one summer. The rangers took me into a restricted area behind Balcony House once. They keep that stuff quiet for a reason, looters used to hit those spots hard.