Mesa Verde National Park offers new camping, tour package

ARAMARK Mesa Verde has announced a new camping package, a guided tour and "green" upgrades at Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park's Morefield Campground. Campers can enjoy sleeping under the stars in the natural beauty of the park's scenic Morefield Canyon.

The package deal, which starts at $89, includes a dry campsite (or $115 for a base campsite) plus two seats on the new Far View Explorer Tour, a driver-guided adventure that departs directly from the campground. The tour takes guests to the popular Far View archaeological sites, including the third largest cliff dwelling Spruce Tree House, and includes short hikes to scenic and archeological overlooks and a picnic lunch in a wooded canyon. The package, which is valid for stays through Oct. 13, 2010, also includes an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast for two and s'mores fix’ns to cook by the fire.

The full-service 350-space Morefield Campground is located inside the park, four miles from its entrance, and offers single, group and base camping; along with amenities like Wi-Fi access at the camp store, a cafe, hot showers, picnic tables and grills.

Together with the National Park Service (NPS), ARAMARK Mesa Verde worked to curb water consumption through a complete water system overhaul at the campground which saved 1.3 million gallons of water in its inaugural year.
 
Mesa Verde National Park was named "The Number One Historic Monument in the World" by Conde Nast Traveler, "One of 50 Places to Visit in a Lifetime" by National Geographic Traveler and a "Top 10 Fodor's Destination." The park was established by Congress on June 29, 1906, to preserve from injury or spoliation the ruins and other works and relics of prehistoric humans. It contains world-renowned dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo peoples within 52,000 acres, 8,000 of which have been designated by Congress as protected wilderness areas. For more information, log on to visitmesaverde.com.

Photo copyright 2010 by Emily Woodbury