Cortez accommodations and food
Nov 22nd, 2004, 04:32 PM
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We stayed in Cortez in May 2003 at the Comfort Inn. We booked through the choice hotel website and were able to get a very good rate. Our room was very large - a king & a queen and was very nice for the price. We ate at a restaurant in downtown Cortez, but can't remember the name.
Nov 23rd, 2004, 05:59 AM
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Judy, how long will you be there? I love Cortez, but it is fairly small. If you are flexible about location, I would recommend Durango. It is about 45 minutes from Cortez, and much larger. It has all the chain hotels, and couple of beautiful historic hotels, as well as many restaurants. If you are planning to stay a few days, you might get bored with fewer options in Cortez.
What activities are you planning for your trip? If your plans are to see Mesa Verde, I highly recommend the Far View Lodge inside the park. Let us know what your plans are for time and activites and we'll be glad to help!
What activities are you planning for your trip? If your plans are to see Mesa Verde, I highly recommend the Far View Lodge inside the park. Let us know what your plans are for time and activites and we'll be glad to help!
Nov 23rd, 2004, 06:32 AM
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Beckers, we want to spend 3 days there. We will be coming fron Santa Fe and want to do Mesa Verde thoroughly,,,with some hiking thrown in. We were going to do Durango, but I want to be closer to the Park. I am ok with small, as long as they have a few decent restaurants, I looked at their Web page and it seems to have enough rests. for me. What do you recommend?
Nov 23rd, 2004, 01:00 PM
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If you have 3 days, I would definitely recommend at least 1 night at the Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde NP. The rooms are decent, but the views and the atmosphere are exceptional! Here is what I posted on another thread about MV:
"Durango is about 30-45 minutes from the entrance of Mesa Verde. To get up into the park to the visitor center, allow another 30-45 minutes. It is an easy drive with beautiful scenery. You can easily stay in Durango if you would like to see MV.
Having said that, I also love the Far View Lodge at Mesa Verde. It is inside the park, on top of the mesa. There are beautiful views, decent rooms (except no A/C!), and I agree with cheviot that Metate is an excellent restaurant. I also recommend staying in the park for the ease of acquiring tickets for the tours. You can purchase tickets for the next day in the afternoon, which I highly recommend. The early morning and late evening tours are the best to avoid the EXTREME summer heat, and those tickets go quickly. You can only do one tour per day, but there is also a museum, as well as self-guided walking and driving tours. The Wetherill Mesa loop is really interesting and seems to be less traveled.
If you stay at the Far View, you MUST see the evening movie in the visitor center. It is a great documentary about the park and its culture.
Given the choice, I'll stay at the Far View every time. "
"Durango is about 30-45 minutes from the entrance of Mesa Verde. To get up into the park to the visitor center, allow another 30-45 minutes. It is an easy drive with beautiful scenery. You can easily stay in Durango if you would like to see MV.
Having said that, I also love the Far View Lodge at Mesa Verde. It is inside the park, on top of the mesa. There are beautiful views, decent rooms (except no A/C!), and I agree with cheviot that Metate is an excellent restaurant. I also recommend staying in the park for the ease of acquiring tickets for the tours. You can purchase tickets for the next day in the afternoon, which I highly recommend. The early morning and late evening tours are the best to avoid the EXTREME summer heat, and those tickets go quickly. You can only do one tour per day, but there is also a museum, as well as self-guided walking and driving tours. The Wetherill Mesa loop is really interesting and seems to be less traveled.
If you stay at the Far View, you MUST see the evening movie in the visitor center. It is a great documentary about the park and its culture.
Given the choice, I'll stay at the Far View every time. "
Nov 23rd, 2004, 01:03 PM
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Here is some more - I had to break this up into three parts to get it to post. Ugh, Fodors. 
Not cool.
Also, there are some cute places to shop around Cortez, especially if you are coming up from the Four Corners area. Lots of neat roadside American Indian shops. My favorite place is just east of Cortez as you're heading to MV, on the right (south) side of the road. It is a jewelry etc. store, beautiful turquoise and other silver, and reasonable prices. Last summer when we stopped, there was a corral with buffalo next to the store. A neat photo op, especially w/kids.
Not cool.Also, there are some cute places to shop around Cortez, especially if you are coming up from the Four Corners area. Lots of neat roadside American Indian shops. My favorite place is just east of Cortez as you're heading to MV, on the right (south) side of the road. It is a jewelry etc. store, beautiful turquoise and other silver, and reasonable prices. Last summer when we stopped, there was a corral with buffalo next to the store. A neat photo op, especially w/kids.
Nov 23rd, 2004, 01:04 PM
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Part three...
If you like archaeology/history, I would also recommend the Canyons of the Ancients, and the Anasazi Heritage center west of Dolores - not far at all from Cortez. I have seen people post here who don't like them, but our whole family found them fascinating when we went last summer - grandparents down to grandkids. I guess it has to do with whether or not your family sees museums as a fun vacation destination!
The museum is very interesting with lots of hands-on displays and a great explanation of the excavation process. They show lots of different films about the area's history and ancestry.
At the museum you can get a map of the locations to see the ruins throughout the Canyons of the Ancients. You could spend a whole day on the museum and the archaeological sites. The sites are scattered, and some of them require 4wd to access. These will satisfy the hiking you want! If you are into the ruins, I guarantee this museum will make you want to spend another week checking out for all the sites in the Four Corners region.
If you decide to do Canyons of the Ancients and the Museum, I would recommend you do these BEFORE you go to Mesa Verde as they are less developed and excavated. It is interesting to see the whole picture of what the ruins look like pre- and post-excavation.
It sounds like Cortez would be a good choice for you. It is central to lots of hiking and ruins, and it is quiet so relaxing is easy! If you have questions about anything else, let us know!
If you like archaeology/history, I would also recommend the Canyons of the Ancients, and the Anasazi Heritage center west of Dolores - not far at all from Cortez. I have seen people post here who don't like them, but our whole family found them fascinating when we went last summer - grandparents down to grandkids. I guess it has to do with whether or not your family sees museums as a fun vacation destination!
The museum is very interesting with lots of hands-on displays and a great explanation of the excavation process. They show lots of different films about the area's history and ancestry. At the museum you can get a map of the locations to see the ruins throughout the Canyons of the Ancients. You could spend a whole day on the museum and the archaeological sites. The sites are scattered, and some of them require 4wd to access. These will satisfy the hiking you want! If you are into the ruins, I guarantee this museum will make you want to spend another week checking out for all the sites in the Four Corners region.
If you decide to do Canyons of the Ancients and the Museum, I would recommend you do these BEFORE you go to Mesa Verde as they are less developed and excavated. It is interesting to see the whole picture of what the ruins look like pre- and post-excavation.
It sounds like Cortez would be a good choice for you. It is central to lots of hiking and ruins, and it is quiet so relaxing is easy! If you have questions about anything else, let us know!
Nov 23rd, 2004, 03:23 PM
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Thanks beckers, for the wonderful info! I think you are right about Cortez...it DOES seem to be the right fit for us. Our itinerary: 3 nights Santa Fe, 3 nights Cortez, 5 nights Moab, 2 nights Canyon de Chelly at T-Bird Lodge, and 1 night Albuquerque. What a great trip and my DH just adores the west! We will do CO im depth next time!
Nov 24th, 2004, 05:51 AM
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Judy, which route are you taking from Santa Fe to Cortez? I would recommend going north on 84 from Santa Fe, then hang a right on 285. This will be the long way, but you will find some truly spectacular scenery.
Head up 285 to Alamosa, then go left/west on 160. Stop in South Fork - there is a restaurant (I forgot the name) on the right/north side of the road, a log cafe thing with a gravel parking lot, that has the most INCREDIBLE pie!
Keep heading west and you will enter the Wolf Creek Pass area. Spectacular views! There has been construction in this area the last few summers, so be alert. Last summer we were stopped just west of South fork, and we spent about 45 minutes taking in the scenery along a bubbling mountain stream! Not too terrible.
When you get up toward the top of the pass, there is a nice wide place on the left/south to pull off and enjoy the meadow and forest. A good place for strecting car-weary legs.
Across from the pull off and east a little is an unassuming dirt road. Take it! It goes to the top of the mountain, the highest one around. There is a weather station at the top, as well as a picnic area and beautiful views - 360 degrees of (maybe) snow-capped mountains. There were also lots of wildflowers and a few deer there last year. Our family always takes a picnic lunch up there to enjoy the scenery. Beware, take a jacket because it will be chilly and windy, even in the summer. You could probably do this in a sedan, but you would be better off in a car that at least sits high.
Back down on the main road, as you go over the pass, there are 2 more scenic overlooks. The first one you come to will be on your right, not too long after you start downhill. There are lots of chipmunks here, and a beautiful view of the valley. The next stop is nearer the bottom of the pass, on the left, at Treasure Mountain Falls. You can hike almost all the way to the top of the falls.
Once you get to Pagosa Springs, you can check out the hot sulfur springs. They can easily be seen from the road.
Anything else you want to know? I'm happy to help. As you can tell, I L-O-V-E southwest Colorado!
Head up 285 to Alamosa, then go left/west on 160. Stop in South Fork - there is a restaurant (I forgot the name) on the right/north side of the road, a log cafe thing with a gravel parking lot, that has the most INCREDIBLE pie!
Keep heading west and you will enter the Wolf Creek Pass area. Spectacular views! There has been construction in this area the last few summers, so be alert. Last summer we were stopped just west of South fork, and we spent about 45 minutes taking in the scenery along a bubbling mountain stream! Not too terrible.
When you get up toward the top of the pass, there is a nice wide place on the left/south to pull off and enjoy the meadow and forest. A good place for strecting car-weary legs.
Across from the pull off and east a little is an unassuming dirt road. Take it! It goes to the top of the mountain, the highest one around. There is a weather station at the top, as well as a picnic area and beautiful views - 360 degrees of (maybe) snow-capped mountains. There were also lots of wildflowers and a few deer there last year. Our family always takes a picnic lunch up there to enjoy the scenery. Beware, take a jacket because it will be chilly and windy, even in the summer. You could probably do this in a sedan, but you would be better off in a car that at least sits high.
Back down on the main road, as you go over the pass, there are 2 more scenic overlooks. The first one you come to will be on your right, not too long after you start downhill. There are lots of chipmunks here, and a beautiful view of the valley. The next stop is nearer the bottom of the pass, on the left, at Treasure Mountain Falls. You can hike almost all the way to the top of the falls.
Once you get to Pagosa Springs, you can check out the hot sulfur springs. They can easily be seen from the road.
Anything else you want to know? I'm happy to help. As you can tell, I L-O-V-E southwest Colorado!
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