Knife Edge...

Knife Edge.... an apt description for this precarious access into Mesa Verde.. A traveler in 1892 described a trail on the ridge before you as the Crinkly Edge Trail. In 1911, just five years after the park was established, the trail became the Knife Edge Road, a new section of the main park road. Although scenic, the road was narrow and steep, and the instability of the soil made it difficult to maintain. Two years later, the park built a bypass through Morefield and Prater Canyons. When the first automobile trip was made in 1914, vehicles used the bypass and the Knife Edge Road was soon closed., The scenic value of the Knife Edge Road prompted the park to reopen it in 1924, replacing the longer bypass. Although it continued to challenge road crews for the next 30 years, it remained in use until 1957 when the Morefield-Prater tunnel was completed., Captions , Lower left: Celebrating the reopening of the Knife Edge Road in 1924, and the newly graded road into Mesa Verde National Park. , Photo courtesy of Denver Public Library, Western History Photographic Collections , Right: Spurred by the challenges of providing safe access, the park has made many changes to the main road over the last century During the early years, the road was rerouted several times to improve, shorten, or create a more dependable route into the park. (Photo of Knife Edge Road accident, 1925)