An annual trek to the San Juan Skyway region usually takes my mountain biking friends and I barreling through Mancos, Colorado, with the destination set for Phil’s World mountain biking trails just outside Cortez. This year my traveling companions and I decided to try a change of scenery and stay in Mancos State Park instead of the Cortez KOA. Arriving with few expectations, we were surprised to discover that the town of 0.6 square miles and fewer than 1,500 people is full of stellar food and drink options, and immediately fell in love with the “Gateway to Mesa Verde.”

Left: Pizza and beer on the patio at Mancos Brewing Company. Right: View from Mancos Brewing Company’s patio.

Mancos Brewing Company

484 Hwy 160 E Frontage Rd, Mancos, 970-533-9761, mancosbrewingcompany.com

After a hard day of bike riding, nothing beats the outdoor patio at Mancos Brewery. Small-batch-brewed beers and wood-fired pizzas can compete with any enthusiast’s top pick of this pairing around the Southwest. Live music and spectacular views abound, making this spot the perfect place to slip into the evening hours. I paired the Meat Dream (six types of meat, plus green chile) wood-fired pizza with their Mancos Gold Pilsner.

Left: Mesa Verde Stack at Absolute Bakery. Right: Bauer Bank building that houses Absolute Bakery.

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Absolute Bakery & Cafe

110 S Main St, Mancos, 970-533-1200, absolutebakery.com

Absolute Bakery, a community hub, is a popular place for breakfast and brunch, and it is well worth waiting for a seat in the eclectically decorated café loaded with books and art for sale. All their food is made from scratch with local and organic ingredients. I savored the highly recommended ​Mesa Verde Stack: eggs over easy served atop a mountain of hash browns and melted cheddar cheese, topped with house green chile and bacon. There is also a big counter for ordering anything off the menu and baked goods to go. Their build-your-own sandwich options are great for putting in your pack and hitting the trails for biking or hiking or enjoying in the park next to the Mancos River.

Left: Fenceline Cider. Right: Roadrunner torta at Fencepost food truck.

Fenceline Cider and Fencepost Food Truck

141 S Main Street, Mancos, 970-533-4005, fenceline.co

Overlooking the Mancos River, Fenceline Cider has a food truck, live music, and cider flavors ranging from elderberry to quince, for the perfect cidery experience. Their cider is crafted with cold, slow fermentation, which produces a drier libation with complex flavors and less sugar. Surrounded by thousands of abandoned orchards that grow in Montezuma County’s rich soil and arid climate, they are committed to upcycling this region’s heritage and wild apples. New to the location is their food truck, Fencepost. They work with local farmers and producers and have a menu that highlights the diversity of the Mancos Valley agricultural region. I enjoyed the Tesgüino cider with tamarind agave and the Roadrunner torta with barbecued pork, cheddar, and homemade slaw on sourdough bread.

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Global Kitchen family-style meal and dessert board.

​Global Kitchen

41900 Hwy 160, Mancos, 970-238-6073, globalkitchen-mancos.com

Global Kitchen is a place to sit and enjoy some of their many tapas-style menu items or pick up grab-and-go items from the freezer to take home or to camp, but we stopped in on a Sunday, when they were serving up one of their weekly community dinners. During the family-style meal, my traveling companions and I enjoyed a flavorful Greek-inspired platter of pork meatballs, falafel, tzatziki, hummus, and tomato-spinach salad with house-fermented lentil bread. Paired with music and local fermented libations and finished with a board of dessert options, this meal had us yearning to spend every Sunday afternoon gathered with old and new friends, visitors and locals, to break bread.

El Rio Cantina.

El Río Cantina

140 Mesa St, Mancos

El Río is the newest kid on the block in Mancos and serves craft cocktails as good as many I’ve sampled in the Southwest’s big cities. A father and son duo has restored the space to feel like a cantina out of Mexico, and they serve up hospitality with their creative and well-balanced drinks. They also have a food truck, Al Pastor Aqui, that often frequents the parking lot and offers tacos to pair with the libations. I enjoyed a Mezcal Paloma with grapefruit soda and lime and, to celebrate conquering the trails for the day, a house-infused watermelon vodka shot.

Around Mancos

Annual Events

Numerous events are held in Mancos each year, including BurroFest in mid-June, Mancos Days the last weekend in July, a motorcycle rally over Labor Day weekend, and a balloon festival in September.

Groceries

Zuma Natural Foods is a grocery and general store with local and organic choices to stock up for a meal at the campsite. They also serve coffee, sandwiches, salads, and soups, with gluten-free and vegetarian options.

Trails

Although many travel to the area for Phil’s World, which offers nearly sixty miles of mountain bike trails outside Cortez, other trail systems closer to Mancos are worth exploring.

The Aqueduct Trail System is the newest in Mancos, with twelve miles of trails completed at the end of 2022. Located just a couple miles from town, these trails will eventually be accessible from Mancos via the Paths to Mesa Verde multiuse pathway. The trails are open for use May 1–November 30 and closed December 1–April 30 for wildlife. There is something for riders of all levels.

The Chicken Creek Trail System provides fantastic family-friendly hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking in the ponderosa pines and is a gateway to higher-elevation trails. These loops are beginner friendly and are groomed for cross-country skiing during the winter months. Leashed dogs are allowed.

The Mancos Spur Trail rises a mile above Mancos. Beginning at nearby Mancos State Park, it continues for 23 1/2 miles up to twelve thousand feet in the La Plata mountains, where it connects with the Colorado Trail. It supports multiple uses, including hiking, backpacking, trail running, mountain biking, horseback riding, and, in the winter, snowshoeing.

Camping

Mancos State Park borders the southwest corner of the San Juan Forest. Boating, camping, and fishing are fun in the summer, and ice fishing is popular in the winter. Cabins and yurts with gas heaters and electricity are available for rent and are open year-round. There are thirty-two campsites spread across two campgrounds. Amenities include drinking water and vault toilets; there are no electrical hookups or shower facilities. Reservations can be made in advance.

Lodging

The Mesa Verde Motel offers stylish lodging at budget prices seven miles from the national park’s entrance. The motel was remodeled in 2011 by two Durango-based couples who gave the property a clean and modern yet nostalgic feel with attention to details like vintage-style coffee pots and colorful wall murals. A short walk from local restaurants, rooms are sparkling clean and include access to a hot tub.

Attractions

Mesa Verde National Park is a stunning fifty-two-thousand-acre swath of the Colorado Plateau offering an opportunity to learn about the Ancestral Puebloan people who first settled the land 1,400 years ago. A sacred site for twenty-six tribes across the Four Corners and beyond, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and an International Dark Sky Park, much of Mesa Verde is accessible by car, with a downloadable audio tour available at the visitor’s center. Short hikes from designated parking areas allow easy viewing of early underground dwellings and the towering cliff structures that mark the later settlements. Reservations are required to tour the cliff dwellings, and backcountry hikes are also available. Contact the park for details.

The Canyon of the Ancients National Monument contains the highest known archaeological site density in the United States, with rich, well-preserved evidence of ancestral Native American cultures. Camping and campfires are allowed in backcountry areas throughout the monument but are prohibited in archaeological sites and within three hundred feet of water sources.