Southwest

Southwest Colorado seems to put visitors under a spell. The area's beauty amazes, transfixing the eye. Blue crags jut between grassy meadows and plunge down to roiling white rapids. Brush-stubbled mesas yawn open, creating impossibly deep stone canyons. Hot springs bubble up from sources unseen, steam flaring. Just after sunset, distant ridges turn soft and gray, silhouetted against purple-pink skies.

The human landscape is as dramatic as the topography. Ghost towns and abandoned mines litter the San Juan Mountains, while on the high flats of the Colorado Plateau, nameless ruins bear witness to an ancient civilization. Mesa Verde National Park, Hovenweep National Monument and the Anasazi Heritage Center make this area an archaeologist's dream.

The towns of the Southwest march to their own rhythm. People are always on the move - biking, hiking, running, climbing, flying, boating, even occasionally working - yet nobody is in a hurry. Telluride, Silverton and Ouray - the divine trinity of the San Juans - pair stunning physical beauty with high culture, making them attractive retreats for starving artists and CEOs alike. Down the hill, Durango offers Western congeniality with just a hint of rebellious frontier spirit. And funky, friendly Crested Butte embodies the individualist essence of the West. Spend a few days in these upbeat locales and you'll be convinced that anything is possible. And truth be told, anything is possible in this dreamlike land.

LARGEST CITY: Durango, population 15,000

FAMOUS RESIDENTS: Singer Joe Cocker has a home in Crawford. Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, blacklisted during the McCarthy era, was born in Montrose. Actor Dennis Weaver lived near Ridgeway; Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton lives near Durango.

HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS: The history of the American Indian is especially strong in Southwestern Colorado, where Ancestral Puebloans built cities in the sandstone and where Ute Indians farmed, hunted and continue to live. The rush for precious ore also touched this section of the state with the discovery of vast amounts of silver. Today, one-of-a-kind sites allow visitors to experience aspects of the region’s deep, historic roots.

FUN FACT: According to the official story, Telluride is named for Tellurium, a mineral extracted in great quantities from the surrounding hills during prospecting days. The unofficial (but more popular) version is that the many desperadoes who hid out in this inapproachable box canyon (including Butch Cassidy) had a code phrase for the place: "To Hell You Ride."

RESOURCES: Southwest Colorado Travel Region

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES:
Chimney Rock Archaeological Area
Mesa Verde National Park
Town of Silverton
Ute Mountain Tribal Park