Colorado Road Trip: Mesa Verde Country in Southwest Colorado

 

Photos Mesa Verde Country

This year is the revival of the Great American Road Trip. Mesa Verde Country in Southwest Colorado is home to two national scenic byways – the Trail of the Ancients National Scenic Byway and the San Juan Skyway. These routes make it easy to plan a memorable road trip through the Southwest.



Trail of the Ancients National Scenic Byway

The Trail of the Ancients meanders 114-miles through the cultural and historic region of the Four Corners in Colorado. There are so many archaeological sites along this stretch of desert highway that it was the first National Scenic Byway designated solely for the sheer number of them. Sites along the byway include: Four Corners Monument, Ute Tribal Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center & Museum, Lowry Pueblo, Hovenweep National Monument, Cortez Cultural Center, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, and the Galloping Goose Museum.




San Juan Skyway (a.k.a. “America’s Most Beautiful Drive”)

The San Juan Skyway is a 236-mile loop drive of majestic views in Southwest Colorado that includes impressive 14,0000-foot peaks, the “Million Dollar Highway” between Ouray and Silverton, and treks through Telluride, Durango, and south through Dolores in Mesa Verde Country. Along the route, the road provides numerous access points to five million acres of undisturbed national forest land. Designated as a US National Forest Scenic Byway in 1988 and as a Colorado State Scenic and Historic Byway in 1989, the San Juan Skyway was the first byway within Colorado to receive these designations.

To learn more about planning a trip to Mesa Verde Country, go to www.mesaverdecountry.com.





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