Mesa Verde in Colorado named top cultural attraction in the West
Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado, home of world-renowned cliff dwellings, has been named the best cultural attraction in the West by Sunset magazine.
Sunset’s editors named Durango’s Music in the Mountains, a three-week festival of classical music, a finalist for the list.
“In the dramatic high desert of southwest Colorado, Mesa Verde seems custom-built for bucket lists: a series of mysteriously abandoned, beautifully preserved pueblos that reflect the daily life, religious traditions, and architectural achievements of the Ancestral Puebloans,” Sunset says of Mesa Verde.
The best way to see Mesa Verde is by hiking in the park.
President Theodore Roosevelt established Mesa Verde National Park in 1906 as the first national park created to “preserve the works of man.”
The park contains the archaeological sites built by the Ancestral Pueblo people, who inhabited Mesa Verde from 550 A.D. to 1300 A.D.
Mesa Verde is home to more than 5,000 archaeological sites including 600 cliff dwellings.
Conde Nast Traveler named the park “The Number One Historic Monument in the World.” National Geographic Traveler calls it “One of 50 Places to Visit in a Lifetime.”
Steamboat Ski & Resort was a finalist in the “best ski destination” category on Sunset’s list. (Park City, Utah, won that prize.)
Surprisingly, no Colorado town won or even was a finalist for “best adventure town” in the West. And Colorado’s bergs didn’t rate for food, either.
Denver Union Station was selected the West’s “best newly saved landmark/neighborhood” in Sunset’s inaugural travel awards program.
Aspen received notice for its art, ranking as a “best arts town” finalist.
See the complete list of the travel awards named in 13 western states at Sunset’s website.
Tourists encircle a kiva while touring the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park. The Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park and in the United States. Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette file
Genevieve Martel from Montreal, Canada, does a self-portrait, or selfie, at the overlook for the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde Park on May 19, 2009. Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette file
Tourists encircle a kiva while touring the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park. Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette file
A tour guide recounts stories of the Native American people who used to call the Cliff Palace their home. The Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park. Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette file
The Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park in the southwest area of Colorado..Tuesday, May 19, 2009. (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett)
Tourist Joyce Chan heads up a ladder at the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park. Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette file
Visitors look up into a tower at the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park. Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette file
An overlook is a nice vantage point to view the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park. Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette file
Tour guides are well versed in the stories and history of the Native American people who made the Cliff Palace their home. The Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park. Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette file
Some think that this tower at the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park could represent the face of a kachina. Jerilee Bennett. The Gazette file