Point Lookout

Switchback up a ridge to Point Lookout high above the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park for views of the Mancos Valley.


Switchback up a hillside in Mesa Verde National Park

Leaving the amphitheater parking lot, the trail crosses a sagebrush meadow as it aims toward a prominent ridge to the northeast. After a few hundred yards, you enter a mix of piñon and junipers, along with scattered groves of Gambel oak. If you look west across the valley, you can see the Prater Ridge Trail as it climbs out of the valley.

The trail begins switchbacking up the hillside. As you climb, keep an eye out for yucca, Mormon tea, and serviceberry, a bush with rounded, toothed leaves and small white flowers in the spring. Another shrub, mountain mahogany, has fan-shaped leaves with obvious veins and teeth. Ancestral Puebloans used the wood for doorways and roofs on their buildings.

At 0.7 mile, you go over a final sandstone ledge and reach the top of the ridge. The main trail continues along a narrow ridge toward the point. A trail to the right takes you to a shelf of solid rock that ends in a sheer cliff with nothing to block the scenery. 

Panoramic views

To the northeast, the La Plata Mountains rise out of the Mancos Valley. Wilson Mountain and Lone Cone Peak (not the small Lone Cone rising above the Morefield Campground) appear on the horizon to the west. Toward the northwest, the Abajo Mountains rise into the sky above Monticello, Utah, while Sleeping Ute Mountain reclines to the west.

After relaxing and enjoying the views, return the way you came. 


Directions to the trailhead

Drive up the park entrance road to Morefield Campground and take the main road through the campground to the amphitheater parking lot. The trail leaves from the northeast corner of the lot.

A view of the Mancos valley
A view of the trail that cuts across a steep shale cliff

Adventure awaits

Sign up to get three hikes in your inbox every month for a year. 

 

Related Hikes by Destination

Tourists enjoying views of the Grand Canyon from one of the overlooks on the Rim Trail

Distance: Up to 13 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Type: Point-to-point

A hiker stands on a rock overlooking the Grand Canyon from the South Kaibab Trail

Distance: 6.6 miles (10.6 km) one way
Difficulty: Moderate
Type: Out and back

A view of two tight switchbacks on the bright angel trail with hikers making their way down the trai.

Distance: 9.5 miles (15.3 km)
Difficulty: Strenuous
Type: One way

The contents of the adventure kit: black hat with Grand Canyon Trust logo, map of grand canyon, bookmark, sticker of grand canyon logo, plus four scenic notecards

Special membership offer

Join the Grand Canyon Trust today to receive your adventure kit:

  • $25 donation: a Grand Canyon map, The Advocate magazine subscription, bookmark, and sticker
  • $75 donation: everything above plus four stunning note cards
  • $100 donation: all the benefits of the $75 level, plus a Grand Canyon Trust hat

Join today