Southwest Colorado
The only way to see the superb Cliff Palace is to take the hour-long ranger-led tour. The tour retraces the steps taken by the Ancestral Puebloans –…
Must-see attractions in Southwest Colorado
Southwest Colorado
A fascinating, if slightly eerie, national park. Anthropologists will love it here; Mesa Verde is unique among American national parks in its focus on…
Southwest Colorado
One of the few American museums dedicated to one tribe. The Ute are the traditional people of western Colorado. The museum is situated on a homestead that…
Southwest Colorado
Within the borders of the Uncompahgre National Forest, this bone-rich area yielded one of the most diverse Jurassic vertebrate collections in the world…
Colterris Winery at the Overlook
Southwest Colorado
Sold in Colorado's finest restaurants, Colterris sits in a league of its own – as a sip of its earthy, balanced Cabernet Sauvignon confirms. The inviting…
Suncrest Orchard, Alpacas and Fiber Mill
Southwest Colorado
If cute were currency, Mike and Cindy McDermott would be sitting on a gold mine with their combination Alpaca and lavender farm. While Mike patiently…
Crested Butte Center for the Arts
Southwest Colorado
The arts center hosts shifting exhibitions of local artists and a stellar schedule of live music and performance pieces. There’s always something lively…
Southwest Colorado
Named for a band of the Ute tribe, the Weminuche Wilderness Area is the most extensive wilderness in Colorado, with an area of more than 700 sq miles. The…
Southwest Colorado
Ute people once inhabited this entire region, from the San Luis Valley west into Utah, and, after a series of forced relocations and treaties from the…
Southwest Colorado
Tickets are required for the one-hour guided tours of Balcony House, on the east side of the Cliff Palace Loop. A visit is an adventure that will…
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…
Southwest Colorado
Part of the La Garita Wilderness, the dramatic stone formations of the Wheeler Geologic Area were carved by wind and rain into volcanic tuff framed by…
Southwest Colorado
On Wetherill Mesa, the magnificent Long House is the second-largest cliff dwelling in the park. A strenuous place to visit, it is only reached as part of…
Southwest Colorado
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…
Southwest Colorado
On display are a staggering number of pieces from the 1880s to the 1930s. There’s a re-created Old West town replete with storefronts, a saloon, drugstore…
Southwest Colorado
A huge red rock mesa standing sentinel over the Grand Junction metropolis, the monument offers exceptional hiking, camping and road biking.
Southwest Colorado
Wetherill Mesa is the second-largest concentration of sites. Visitors may enter stabilized surface sites and two cliff dwellings, including the Long House…
Southwest Colorado
In AD 1270 a catastrophic earth flow moved almost 5 miles down the mountainside and dammed the Gunnison River to form Lake San Cristobal, Colorado’s…
Southwest Colorado
Ridgway was the birthplace of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, a narrow-gauge rail line that connected to Durango with the ‘Galloping Goose,’ a kind of…
Chimney Rock Archaeological Area
Southwest Colorado
Designated an Archaeological Area and National Historic Site in 1970, these 4000 acres within the San Juan National Forest hold remains of 100 permanent…
Southwest Colorado
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…
Southwest Colorado
Twenty-five miles west of Creede and only 0.5 miles from signs on Hwy 149, these impressive falls are visible from an overlook on the fenced edge of a…
Southwest Colorado
The grassy riverbanks in the Coller State Wildlife Area attract elk, deer and moose in winter. You can see bighorn sheep throughout the year on the south…
Crow Canyon Archaeology Center
Southwest Colorado
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…
Southwest Colorado
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…
Southwest Colorado
This is a popular short walk from town, or you can drive to the signposted parking lot off Box Canyon Rd. The waterfall is 285ft high and issues thousands…
Southwest Colorado
Don't be shy: do a spread eagle for the camera on top of the four corners marker that signifies you're in four states at once. It's a good image, even if…
Southwest Colorado
This Ancestral Puebloan ruin is the most accessible of the archaeological sites, although the half-mile round-trip access track is still a moderately…
Southwest Colorado
The most impressive of Grand Junction’s sites, this well-arranged museum is the largest in the region, featuring impressive multidisciplinary displays on…
Creede Underground Mining Museum
Southwest Colorado
Opened in 1992, this fascinating museum was hewn from the ground by mine workers, and the tours, which really bring home the grim reality of life in the…
Southwest Colorado
While campaigning for the 2008 presidential election, the Obamas picked up a box of peaches at this family-operated outfit. They grow fruit so succulent…
Southwest Colorado
Owner John Barbier is a gregarious oenophile of the most lovable sort and his 'House of Beautiful Life' produces some of the area's finest Cab, Syrah and…
Telluride
This Smithsonian-affiliated museum features the geologic history of the region as well as background on local mining history and native cultures. While…
Southwest Colorado
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…
Southwest Colorado
This small museum has a fantastic collection of scary animatronic dinos that snort steam and jerk around, bestial skeletons and interesting multimedia…
Southwest Colorado
Tour this organic farm and pick your own lavender from its gorgeous fields. The lavender eye pillows make great gifts. It also sells bags of juicy…
Southwest Colorado
Definitely worth a stop for auto aficionados, with 16 buildings crammed with old cars and carts, tools and trains, and a fascinating telephony display…
Southwest Colorado
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…
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Southwest Colorado
This 32,950-acre park is a black canyon so sheer, deep and narrow, sunlight only touches the canyon floor when the sun is directly overhead. The intense…
Southwest Colorado
Delta’s history as a fur-trading center and frontier outpost comes alive with a self-guided tour behind the rough timber walls of this 1828 fort. Allow…
