Hidden Gems in Cortez
2 places · Spots most visitors never find
Cortez, CO
Lowry Pueblo
Lowry Pueblo is a partially excavated Ancestral Puebloan great house containing about 40 rooms and 8 kivas, dating from approximately 1060 to 1150 CE. The site includes one of the best-preserved great kivas in the region with original painted plaster still visible on the walls. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and sits on an open sagebrush plain west of Pleasant View.
Cortez, CO
Canyon of the Ancients National Monument
Canyon of the Ancients contains one of the highest known densities of archaeological sites in the United States, with over 6,000 recorded sites across its desert landscape. The monument encompasses sagebrush mesas, shallow canyons with sandstone outcrops, and scattered ruins dating from 750 to 1300 CE. Sand Canyon and East Rock Creek trails provide access to well-preserved pueblo and tower sites.