Mesa Verde Country in Southwest Colorado recently announced that it has assumed the administrative and operational responsibilities of the Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway (TotA). The administration and implementation of TotA resided under the Mesa Verde Country umbrella for the first 18 years of the byway’s life, but in 2014 TotA was reintroduced as a stand-alone organization.
“We have been anxious to bring TotA back into the Mesa Verde Country fold for a while now, but we simply didn’t have the bandwidth to do so,” Mesa Verde Country’s Executive Director Kelly Kirkpatrick said. “We recently added an additional staff member, which enables us to make this move. It is a win-win-win for Mesa Verde Country, TotA and most importantly, our visitors.”
Trail of the Ancients is a 114-mile route across the broken, arid terrain of the Ancestral Puebloan people that is not only designated as a scenic byway, but also as an America’s Byway by the federal government. Along the route, visitors can see clues about the ancient civilization with cliff dwellings, rock art and pottery sherds. Attractions along the byway include Hovenweep National Monument and Mesa Verde National Park, both rich in cultural sites. The Canyons of the Ancients National Monument Visitors Center and Museum (CANM) in Dolores offers background and interpretive information. One branch of the byway leads to the Four Corners Area, connecting with Utah’s Trail of the Ancients byway.
“What’s so neat about TotA is that it gives visitors a complete Mesa Verde Country experience along a single roadway,” said Kirkpatrick, whose team will modernize the TotA website and optimize it for mobile devices to make it easier for visitors to plan their trek. “It’s a real treasure for our area.”
Trail of the Ancients was designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as a National Scenic Byway in 2005. The route won the National Scenic Byway Foundation’s 2020 Public-Private Partnership Award for the McElmo Creek Flume Restoration, which added a wayside stop to the route. Read more about this award and the project online at coloradopreservation.org/programs/endangered-places/mcelmo-creek-flume.
The Ride of the Ancients (RotA), now in its second year, is the signature fundraising event for TotA and will take place on Saturday, July 9. In its inaugural year, the event attracted 127 entrants, and this year’s ride is well on its way to meeting the cap of 200 entries. New this year, there will be a “Family Affair” route to engage multi-generational participants. The event weekend will kick off with locally renowned Navajo comedians “James and Ernie” who will perform at the Turquoise Raven Art Gallery on July 8. Learn more and register at rideoftheancients.com.
For more information on planning a trip to Mesa Verde Country, call (970) 565-8227 or visit www.mesaverdecountry.com. Mesa Verde Country also has two podcasts that offer an introduction to Southwest Colorado and all its wonders. Download the Ancient Voices Podcast here: https://mesaverdecountry.com/blog/podcasts/ancient-voices-podcast/ or listen to the Mesa Verde Voices Podcast here: https://mesaverdecountry.com/blog/podcasts/mesa-verde-voices-podcast/.