If you go to Mesa Verde

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK: www.nps.gov/meve/ or 970-529-4461. Open daily, year-round. Entrance fee: $10, good for seven days. Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and Spruce Tree House are open year-round for free, self-guided tours.

RANGER-LED TOURS: Tickets, $3 each, available at Far View Visitor Center, open April 9-Oct. 9, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Cliff Palace tours are held April 9-Nov. 4; Balcony House, April 30-Oct. 9. (Note that Balcony House tours involve steep ladders and climbing through a tunnel.) At the more remote Wetherill Mesa, open May 28-Sept. 4, Long House requires a ticket; Step House does not.

CENTENNIAL EVENTS: Tickets for ranger-led, two-hour hikes and September horseback rides to sites open for the centennial available online at www.mesaverde2006.org, which lists all centennial events, including the free June 29-July 2 birthday party.

GETTING THERE: Mesa Verde park headquarters is a one-hour drive from Cortez, Colo., heading east on Highway 160, and 90 minutes from Durango, heading west on Highway 160.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Inside the park: Far View Lodge, $110-$127 nightly, or Morefield Campground, $20-$25; www.visitmesaverde.com or 800-449-2288. Outside the park, Mancos, Cortez and Durango offer a variety of lodging and dining. Visitor information at www.mesaverdecountry.com.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS:

• Four Corners National Monument, where you can have your picture taken standing on the spot where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico meet, www.mesaverde.com/fcmonument.htm.

•In Colorado, San Juan Skyway, www.byways.org/browse/byways/2101/; Anasazi Heritage Center, www.co.blm.gov/ahc/ and Escalante Ruin, www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/amsw/sw25.htm

• In New Mexico, Aztec Ruins National Monument, www.nps.gov/azru/, and Chaco Canyon, www.nps.gov/chcu/.