Off the Beaten Path: Cortez
About seven hours from Denver, but just 46 miles from Durango is Cortez, population 9,007 (and, yes, they’re counting!) Cortez has a quaint Main Street with brew pubs and coffee shops and goes to show that good things are found near small packages, at least when it comes to mountain biking. This little town (believe […]
About seven hours from Denver, but just 46 miles from Durango is Cortez, population 9,007 (and, yes, they’re counting!) Cortez has a quaint Main Street with brew pubs and coffee shops and goes to show that good things are found near small packages, at least when it comes to mountain biking. This little town (believe it or not, they call it the “City of Cortez”) is home to the 26.8 mile Phil’s World Mountain Bike Trail system. Phil’s World offers views of the Sleeping Ute, La Plata and Mesa Verde mountains and is ranked #2 for best mountain biking in Colorado and 10th for “all-time best rides” by the MTB Project and the International Mountain Biking Association – now that’s something to pop a wheel about. What else do you expect from trails built for and by mountain bikers and maintained by the Kokopelli Bike Club? Phil’s World parking lot is located at 9450 Road 30.1 and fills up fast, so get there early.
Head west and just 10 miles from Cortez you’ll find the 176,000-acre Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, which spans to the Utah border. With more than 6,355 documented sites and an estimated 30,000 sites total, Canyons of the Ancients is the most densely-sited archaeological area in the U.S. You’ll find well-preserved examples of everything from villages, field houses and reservoirs to sweat lodges, petroglyphs and shrines. Travelers are advised to stop at the Visitors Center & Museum in Dolores first for orientation and updated conditions, 970-882-5600. From March through October there’s a $3 admission fee.
Also nearby is the 784-acre Hovenweep National Monument, on the Great Sage Plain of Cajon Mesa. Hovenweep features six prehistoric villages built between 1200-1300. For information call 970-562-4282 x5. And if you have time, check out the 16-acre Yucca House National Monument, at 970-529-4465, 11 miles southwest of Cortez.
Happy trails … and do send us a postcard. We’d love to hear about your adventures!
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