Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum

I recently had the chance to explore the Museum, and it was such a delightful experience! The reconstructed dwellings give you a fantastic peek into the lives of the Ancestral Puebloans, highlighting their incredible craftsmanship and resilience. The displays are super informative and really help you appreciate the history of this amazing site.Just a heads up, it can get a bit crowded, so I suggest going early in the morning or later in the afternoon for a more peaceful visit. Overall, the gorgeous views and rich history make the Manitou Cliff Dwellings a must-see for anyone who loves learning about Native American culture. Enjoy your trip!

What a --*Popular Tourist Get-A-Way HotSpot*- Accessible right off the Highway!- Easy walkable for almost anyone- Offering a glimpse into the ancient history- Beautiful views of the mountains and the natural landscape - You can walk through exhibits yourself!- Self-Guided & Informative Museum- Fantastic gift shop!- Marvelous Picture Photography SceneryCheck out the pictures below~

my husband is native american and this is so awesome! seeing the history it's a self tour not the best for wheelchair or strollers but a very fun place!and we love dog friendly places!

Small museum that shows how the old cliff dwellings of the Native Americans of the area, you can touch, climb, wander through representative dwellings, and the main pueblo building is filled with museum items and a very large gift shop. The gift shop was multiple times larger than the museum. It's not an original dwelling (reconstructed for the public as a for-profit museum, from what I can tell).Great views of the cliff as you drive up (I didn't get a picture of that since I was driving), and on the cliffs you can look out over Colorado Springs. $14 entrance fee and park yourself. Discount if you're military personnel or veteran. Employees very friendly.You can definitely go through this in an hour or so, unless you have little ones that like to climb and go into every little cubby room. Lots of stairs and small walkways, though, so not a good place if you can't take the stairs. A teepee as well for photos.

Manitou Cliff Dwellings may be the one attraction you actually don't need a reservation for visiting. They are open 9am - 5pm throughout the summer and it was nice to just show up when I felt like it and not be on a timed schedule. But, it just goes to show how popular this area of the Pikes Peak region is for exploring.It's just under $14 entrance fee. Then, park you car and stroll on over to the cliff dwelling. Now...I said dwelling (not plural), because it's just one dwelling you get to walk inside of. There's not multiple dwellings (like say at...Mesa Verde National Park) and so a visit here can be a real fast one, like 60 - 90 minutes long.I will give credit though, this one framework structure embedded into the side of the mountain was pretty colorful. I found the setting to be quite photogenic. It had that red rock essence to it, especially when the sun shined.Once you're finished checking out the layout of the ancestral home, then all that's left is heading down a flight of stairs to the Museum.The Museum is located inside another Puebloan configuration which was so perfectly symmetrical looking, it almost appeared built by an actual architect, lol.And before walking down the steps towards the Museum, I'd keep the surroundings in mind.If you view out onto the landscape in the background, the scenery was impressive. Next thing, I was more interested in taking photos of the beautiful backdrop than learning what the museum offered, lol.My biggest takeaway from the Museum was how big the Gift Shop was. There were multiple floors of items, trinkets and sort of useless souvenirs on sale, trying to coerce visitors into spending a little more for fun memories, lol. I splurged for an $8 magnet.I think the real hidden gem about inside the Gift Shop, um...I mean inside the Museum, lol, was stepping out onto the balcony for more panoramic views!Yes, I'm back to talking about more picture taking, lol, but the scenery from the balcony offers rewarding perspectives of the gorgeous green mountains hovering in the distance.And that's really it. There are some benches around the grounds if you feel like leisurely taking your time and sitting down. Otherwise, come prepared ready for another activity because you'll be finished here pretty quickly.Overall, I liked Manitou Cliff Dwelling, but it didn't offer enough things to see and do. It'd be great if there was a hiking trail to connect with while here or something else to stay busy.Otherwise, the Ancestral Puebloans from years ago picked an exquisite moutainside section of Manitou Springs to try and make sustainable lives for themselves.

Visiting from Texas showing off Colorado to friends. Our friends LOVED this stop and WOW. Just not the Dwellings, but a very in-depth museum and great gift store. Pay at the entrance and they offer different discounts. I think the pictures will tell the rest of the story....4 stars, because the cafe wasn't open.

Not worth it, small cliff dwellings. There's a ticket booth at the bottom of the hill. They charged you before you even got there, nothing much to see except the replica cliff dwellers. Left less than an hour.

This is an interesting tourist attraction, one the whole family can enjoy. There is history of the early dwellers and you can enter the dwellings to get a real sense of what it may have been like. There is a free audio tour if you are interested. There is also a museum where you can see and learn a little more. And of course there is a gift shop for souvenir. The only thing missing was a snack shop or cafe (closed).

Such a cool spot with so much to learn! 98% reading, so if that's not your thing, heads up! It's awesome to walk through the dwellings before or after the museum as well. I did notice a lot of kids running around without parents and jumping through the dwellings so that was a bit overwhelming, but other than that, I learned tons and the views/dwellings were well worth it!

A very interesting private cliff dwelling museum. Apparently, the original owner moved the original dwellings from the Mesa Verde area. The dwellings were ok, certainly not as impressive as Mesa Verde National Park. A walk through took less than 45 minutes. More captivating was the small museum. The exhibitions and pieces were in excellent condition. The narratives were informative. I could easily stay in the museum for 2 hours. I really enjoyed the museum. There was also a large gift shop selling many products made by Native Americans. The parking was great. There were many spaces where one can park right in front of the dwellings. Prices were $12.75 for teen & adult, $10 for senior.