Balcony House is a medium sized cliff dwelling with forty rooms in Mesa Verde National Park. It is located on the return section of the one way Cliff Palace Loop Road, after Hemenway House and before with Soda Canyon overlook Trail.
Balcony House contains well preserved rooms, kivas and plazas from the Pueblo Indians of the thirteenth century. It also provides insight into the evolution of room and passageway construction. Only 10 of the cliff dwellings in the park are larger than Balcony House.
Balcony House was rediscovered in 1884 by prospectors looking for coal seams in nearby Mancos Canyon. It was excavated in 1910.
Only guests on a tour may enter Balcony House. Rangers lead one hour tours of Balcony House with advanced ticketing available at the Visitor Center. The tour begins at the Balcony House parking lot and is considered strenuous because it includes a 32 foot ladder, two 10 foot ladders, a 100 step stair decent and crawling through a 12 foot long tunnel that is 18 inches wide. Tours are offered between April and October.
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