Ancient Treasures in Mesa Verde Country / COME TO LIFE ANCIENT TREASURES IN MESA VERDE COUNTRY DAY 1 Make your home base in Cortez , an hour from Mesa Verde National Park. Whether you stay at a B&B, cabin or guest ranch, Cortez offers a host of excellent dining and shopping opportunities and 294 acres of parks and recreation areas. But save walking around town for later — you have a national park to explore. Stop by the Colorado Welcome Center on Main Street to pick up the National Geographic Four Corners Region Map , which gives local insights into what the area has to offer. Then head to the “green table” of Mesa Verde National Park , home to more than 4,000 archeo-logical sites, 600 of which are cliff dwellings. Orient yourself at the Visitor and Research Center , where you can pick up maps and brochures, see exhibits and purchase tickets for tours; only two cliff dwellings are open COLORADO One of the richest archeological zones in America just happens to be hidden amid some of the grandest scenery in the Southwest. for self-guided tours, so if you want to go inside the amazing Cliff Palace (1) , you must nab a spot on a guided tour. From the visitor center, browse the exhibits in the Chapin Mesa Archeolog-ical Museum and watch the film on Ancestral Puebloan culture. Then drive the Mesa Top Loop Road , a six-mile loop that offers an excellent overview of the entire park. On your way to Cliff Palace or Balcony House (3) , enjoy the drive on the Cliff Palace/Balcony House Loop Road . Or if you purchased tickets for Long House (2) , take Wetherill Mesa Drive . 1 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: CLIFF PALACE TOUR, MILES/DENISE CHAMBERS; SPRUCE TREE HOUSE AT NIGHT, BLAINE HARRINGTON III; BALCONY HOUSE, JAMES BRANAMAN; LONG HOUSE, LAURENCE PARENT. 2 3 QUICK TIP If ATVs are your thing, the Dolores Public Lands Office can direct you to the best trails, including the Aspen Loop Trail, a multipurpose, 39-mile loop trail constructed by San Juan National Forest and the Four Corners Trail Club. Travel through old logging roads, streams, aspen groves and spruce forests. COLORADO.COM / 177
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2017: Page 177
