Mancos, CO: Enjoying life at the intersection of Art & Adventure
March 2023: Located at the base of Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado, Mancos (population 1,196*) has branded itself “Gateway to Mesa Verde” and “At the intersection of Art & Adventure”. Our visit clearly illustrates why Mancos is a destination as well as a gateway. It offers an impressive variety of outdoor recreational activities and has terrific in-town amenities to support locals and visitors alike. Mesa Verde National Park is only a 30-minute drive away.
Mancos – A Brief history
The Mancos Valley has been settled since at least the 1000 AD by the Ancient Puebloan people. However, it was largely abandoned by the late 1300s due to a variety of reasons including an extended drought. The area is dotted by literally hundreds of archeological sites – including the Palace cliff dwellings, one of the most well-known locations in the Mesa Verde National Park.
The town of Mancos was founded near the site where early Spanish explorers first crossed the Mancos River. In the 1800s it became a part of a popular trading route known as the Old Spanish Trail, which connected New Mexico and California. Later in the 1890s, Mancos was a stop along the Rio Grande Southern Railroad. It connected Durango and Telluride, offering a way to transport area beef, timber, and other agricultural products to the area mining camps. Mancos was incorporated into a town in 1894. Dating back to that era, several buildings are registered as National Historical Places.
- Bauer Bank Building (1905),
- Bauer House (1889),
- Mancos High School (1909),
- Mancos Opera House (1910) and
- Wrightsman House (1903).
Water-related projects from the 1950s created Jackson Reservoir (north of town). As a result, Mancos State Park, the town of itself, and Mesa Verde National Park all benefitted from a reliable water supply.
Mancos continues to be a commercial and tourism center for Montezuma county.
Downtown vibe / walkability
We stopped by after spending a Sunday morning at Mesa Verde National Park. Our first stop in town was the Mancos Brewing Company, along Hwy 160 on the east side of town (towards Durango). We love a local microbrewery! This one has excellent craft beer, a cool atmosphere and particularly good food – which we appreciated as we were starving for lunch after our morning of hiking.
After lunch, we drove to the downtown area off of Business 160 to walk around. We always appreciate when a business district is away from a throughfare highway which offers a much more pleasant walking experience. The historic buildings in town were generally beautifully maintained, most with active businesses.
We unfortunately missed the local coffee shop Sunday open hours, but enjoyed walking around to admire the wide variety of businesses and residences.
- Fahrenheit Coffee Roasters – Google Maps – loved the big outdoor covered patio!
- Absolute Bakery & Cafe – Google Maps
We stopped by Fenceline Cider to admire their beautiful mural. Then we headed toward their (heated) outside patio for a drink. What a terrific place! We can highly recommend their ciders, their indoor atmosphere, and their outdoor patio by the river.
As we walked back to our car, we also saw a reference to a community makers’ space – across from a new and beautiful library. We also saw a sign for a Makers Space, which seems like a valuable asset for the community.
More to Explore!
We were impressed… how does a town of 1200 people maintain such a lovely historic downtown?
While at Fenceline, we noticed an event was underway that seemed to be drawing a lot of locals. We eventually figured out was that the event was sponsored by Mancos Creative District which was having a community meeting at this local business. Intrigued, i later researched and learned that the community is working with the Colorado Creative Districts program, which certifies communities that contribute to the state’s economy through creativity, culture, and the arts.
As we walked around, it was very clear that Mancos has an active business community that is leaning into the power and synergy of local art, business and events. There were several beautiful murals, a couple statues, and out personal favorite – 2 local art vending machines. Cool!
We also found a webpage featuring a walking tour of Historic Downtown Mancos – this is really interesting!
Local Activities / Events
My on-line research on the Town website, the Mancos Valley Chamber of Commerce website featured two annual events that look amazing.
- BurroFest is June 17, 2023 (first festival was in 2019)
- Mancos Days is the last full weekend in July.
Kudos to the small community of Mancos of less than 1500 residents for creating and maintaining a very cool place to live and to visit!
For more information, visit smalltownresearch.org
