This comparatively low-elevation (6,000-7,000 feet) area offers a unique
combination of terrain, scenery, and climate that allows for nearly year-round
recreation close to towns and surrounded by panoramic backdrops. The
relatively small blocks of public land are particularly well-suited to non-
motorized trail use with opportunities for short motorized trails. This area
also contains the only "open" (to cross country travel) motorized areas in the
field office, providing rock crawling, OHV play and skill-building. Mountain
biking trail systems are currently the greatest draw, highlighted by Phil's
World just east of Cortez, which is one of the BLM's 20 premier mountain
biking destinations. For more information, please contact the Tres Rios Field
Office.

This comparatively low-elevation (6,000-7,000 feet) area offers a unique combination of terrain, scenery, and climate that allows for nearly year-round recreation close to towns and surrounded by panoramic backdrops. The relatively small blocks of public land are particularly well-suited to non-motorized trail use with opportunities for short motorized trails. This area also contains the only "open" (to cross country travel) motorized areas in the field office, providing rock crawling, OHV play and skill-building. Mountain biking trail systems are currently the greatest draw, highlighted by Phil's World just east of Cortez, which is one of the BLM's 20 premier mountain biking destinations. For more information, please contact the Tres Rios Field Office.

Bird's eye view of the park

Cortez SRMA

For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on
the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich
cultural heritage of 27 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular
window into the past. This World Heritage Site and International Dark Sky Park
is home to over a thousand species, including several that live nowhere else
on earth.

For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage of 27 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular window into the past. This World Heritage Site and International Dark Sky Park is home to over a thousand species, including several that live nowhere else on earth.

Mesa Verde National Park

Yucca House National Monument preserves a large unexcavated pueblo with a
stunning setting in Montezuma Valley, nestled between Mesa Verde and Ute
Mountain. Since Yucca House was protected as a national monument in 1919, it
has remained largely untouched, offering intrepid visitors a sense of
discovery and preserving the pueblo's beauty and integrity for future
generations.

Yucca House National Monument preserves a large unexcavated pueblo with a stunning setting in Montezuma Valley, nestled between Mesa Verde and Ute Mountain. Since Yucca House was protected as a national monument in 1919, it has remained largely untouched, offering intrepid visitors a sense of discovery and preserving the pueblo's beauty and integrity for future generations.

Yucca House National Monument

Recreation at Jackson Gulch Reservoir (Mancos State Park) is managed by the
Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation under agreement with the
Bureau of Reclamation, Western Colorado Area Office - Southern Division,
Durango, Colorado. Jackson Gulch Dam was completed in 1950 and is the
principal feature of the Mancos Project in southwestern Colorado. An inlet
canal from the West Mancos River feeds the small reservoir which is an off-
stream storage impoundment with 4 miles of shoreline. The reservoir is located
5 miles north of Mancos, Colorado, and 10 miles from Mesa Verde National Park,
a World Heritage Site. The reservoir provides important recreation, fish and
wildlife benefits; it has about 36,000 visitors per year. The average
elevation is about 7,800 feet above sea level. Call 1-800-678-2267 for camping
reservations.

Recreation at Jackson Gulch Reservoir (Mancos State Park) is managed by the Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation under agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation, Western Colorado Area Office - Southern Division, Durango, Colorado. <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=156" rel="nofollow">Jackson Gulch Dam</a> was completed in 1950 and is the principal feature of the <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=347" rel="nofollow">Mancos Project</a> in southwestern Colorado.  An inlet canal from the West Mancos River feeds the small reservoir which is an off-stream storage impoundment with 4 miles of shoreline.  The reservoir is located 5 miles north of Mancos, Colorado, and 10 miles from Mesa Verde National Park, a World Heritage Site.  The reservoir provides important recreation, fish and wildlife benefits; it has about 36,000 visitors per year.  The average elevation is about 7,800 feet above sea level.
Call 1-800-678-2267 for camping reservations.

Cortez SRMA

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Nearby Parks

Mesa Verde National Park

Yucca House National Monument

Jackson Gulch Reservoir