Anasazi Ruins at Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, Colorado.

© Beth Harvey/Shutterstock

Anasazi Heritage Center

Southwest Colorado


The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages the Anasazi Heritage Center, a good stop for anyone touring the area’s archaeological sites. It’s 3 miles west of town, with hands-on exhibits such as weaving, corn grinding, tree-ring analysis and an introduction to the way in which archaeologists examine potsherds. Entrance is free with an America the Beautiful national parks pass.

You can walk through the Dominguez Pueblo, a roofless site from the 1100s that sits in front of the museum and compare its relative simplicity to the Escalante Pueblo, a Chacoan structure on a nearby hillside.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Southwest Colorado attractions

1. McPhee Lake

2.26 MILES

The second-largest body of water in Colorado, McPhee Lake is one of the top fishing spots in the San Juan basin. With the best catch ratio in southern…

2. Art Girls' Studio

2.29 MILES

This fully decked-out quilt and crafts shop is a do-it-yourselfer's dream. Classes are offered, finished products such as art quilts are on sale and some…

3. Cortez Cultural Center

9.03 MILES

Exhibits on the Ancestral Puebloans, as well as art displays, make this museum worthy of a visit if you have a few hours to spare. The adjoining Cultural…

4. Crow Canyon Archaeology Center

9.33 MILES

This cultural center, about 3 miles north of Cortez, offers a day-long educational program that visits an excavation site west of town. Programs teach the…

5. Guy Drew Vineyard

12.93 MILES

A fun stop if you are in the area, this well-regarded, small, family-run vineyard has informal tastings in the straw-bale farm kitchen. Owned by happy…

6. Park Point

14.32 MILES

The fire lookout at Park Point is the highest elevation (8571ft) in the park and offers panoramic views. To the north are the 14,000ft peaks of the San…

7. Mesa Verde National Park

17.36 MILES

A fascinating, if slightly eerie, national park. Anthropologists will love it here; Mesa Verde is unique among American national parks in its focus on…

8. Step House

19.29 MILES

Step House was initially occupied by Modified Basketmaker peoples residing in pithouses, and later became the site of a Classic Pueblo–period masonry…