Mesa Verde offers spectacular views of the southwestern Colorado countryside. From the tops of its mesas you can see for many miles across the hot, dry, canyons of colorful earth painted with bright green sagebrush.

While Mesa Verde is a beautiful natural site, it is also a very valuable archeological area. Throughout the park are the ruins of the stone cliff dwellings of the Anasazi people, mostly constructed in the years between 1100 and 1300 AD. These remnants of an ancient civilization are fascinating to look at and walk through.

There are a few miles of hiking trails in Mesa Verde National Park, but primarily it is a car park. You drive from one archeological site to the next.

Located near Mesa Verde, in south central Colorado, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument is another beautiful natural area worth seeing. The landscape consists of rolling hills of greens, golds, and orange punctuated by tall, rocky bluffs. The deep blue Gunnison River cuts a wide, twisting path through this awesome scenery.

There are extensive opportunities for outdoor recreation in this area, or you can just drive through and admire the stunning panoramic view.