2022-12-03 09:53:43
One of the richest archaeological zones in the U.S. is hidden amid some of the grandest natural landscapes in the Southwest. Visit Mesa Verde Country — Cortez, Mancos and Dolores — for awe-inspiring adventures. Day 1 Make your home base in Cortez, an hour from Mesa Verde National Park. Whether you stay at a yurt, cabin or guest ranch, Cortez has excellent dining and shopping opportunities. Check out the new Zu Gallery for artist exhibits, workshops and a social spot serving Colorado-crafted libations. But save in-town exploits for later — you have a national park to explore. Stop by the Colorado Welcome Center for travel tips from locals on the way. Head to the “green table” of Mesa Verde National Park, home to 4,700-plus archaeological sites, 600 of which are cliff dwellings. Pick up maps and brochures, see exhibits and buy tour tickets at the Visitor and Research Center. Only one cliff dwelling (Step House) is open for self-guided exploration, so if you want to enter the famed Cliff Palace, you must take a guided tour. For an overview of the full park, drive the 6-mile Mesa Top Loop Road while listening to the audio tour (available on nps.gov/meve). Mesa Verde is also an International Dark-Sky Park, so don’t miss the chance to view staggeringly starry skies on clear nights. Day 2 Travel the 116-mile Trail of the Ancients, America’s only National Scenic Byway dedicated solely to archaeology. From Cortez, wind past Mesa Verde to Ute Mountain Tribal Park in Towaoc, where Ute guides help you explore the culture, architecture and art of the Ute and Ancestral Puebloan people. From here, pass Four Corners Monument on your way to Hovenweep National Monument’s round and square towers, some of which you can reach via a short hike. Next up is Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Stop first at the Visitor Center and Museum to learn about the monument and cultures native to the region. Then head to Lowry Pueblo, an ancient structure with 40 rooms and eight circular kivas. The area’s high-desert canyons, mesas and 600 miles of singletrack, slickrock and old-growth-forest trails make Cortez a hub for mountain bikers. East of town on Hwy. 160, Phil’s World is a fast, fun and well-maintained singletrack trail, and the Geer Open Space has 10 additional miles of intermediate biking. Or head to Mancos, a Certified Colorado Creative District whose community traces its roots back to the ranching, farming and timber industries of the 1870s. Today Mancos boasts little shops brimming with unique gifts and wonderful art. Local artisans craft everything from beer and rum to leather goods and Western hats. Learn the art of typesetting at Mancos Common Press, a community art space full of vintage and antique printing presses. Or take workshops in blacksmithing, mosaics, pottery, leatherworking and more at the Mancos School of the West. Taste the region’s flavors on a Colorado wine tour. Cortez is home to two wineries: Sutcliffe Vineyards, recognized among the country’s top wine producers by Food & Wine Magazine, and Yellow Car Country Wines, which has a patio with amazing views. If ATVs are more your thing, the Dolores Ranger District can direct you to the good routes, including the Aspen Loop Trail, a multipurpose, 39-mile loop through old logging roads, streams and aspen groves. Also in Dolores, fishers will find a haven on McPhee Reservoir, Colorado’s second-largest body of water, with 50 miles of shoreline in pinyon, juniper and sagebrush country. Doc’s Marina offers boats and kayak rentals, snacks, ice and tackle. SIDETRIPS The San Juan Skyway is a 236-mile scenic-byway loop called the “most beautiful drive in America” for good reason. The road traverses southwestern Colorado’s rich landscape, starting in Cortez and passing through the idyllic mountain towns of Mancos, Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway, Telluride, Rico and Dolores. In the fall, the skyway is lined with golden aspens. The state’s most southwestern town, Towaoc, is the headquarters of the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation. Take an interpretive journey of Ute Mountain Tribal Park with a Ute guide. The tribe also operates Ute Mountain Casino Hotel, which includes an RV park, campground, travel center and restaurant.
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