Mesa Verde Wilderness, Archaeological site in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States.

Mesa Verde Wilderness is a 34.4 km2 (8,500-acre) protected area within Mesa Verde National Park in Montezuma County, Colorado. Its canyons and mesa tops hold hundreds of cliff dwellings, including multi-story stone masonry structures built into natural cliff recesses, with small dark openings in rows and uneven broken tops.

Mesa Verde Wilderness was designated in 1976, protecting 34.4 km² (8,500 acres) within Mesa Verde National Park. The park itself was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, covering 52,485 acres (212 km²) and holding more than 5,000 sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. The first scientific documentation occurred in 1874 when a photographer discovered small cliff dwellings in a canyon.

The land holds traces of different communities who lived here over many centuries and gradually changed how they built homes and made pottery. Walking through the ruins, you notice how their construction methods and daily practices shifted from one era to the next.

The region requires hiking on uneven trails through forest and mountain terrain. Visitors should bring plenty of water, sturdy shoes, and proper preparation, as there is little infrastructure available.

Analysis of tree rings shows that a severe drought between 1276 and 1299 forced people to abandon their settlements completely. This prolonged dry period was so intense that the region remained unpopulated for a long time afterward.