In an article on Flights.com, Cortez was named one of “The 10 Most Beautiful Places You Have to See in Person.”
Resorts, churches and trails from Connecticut to California were named on the list.
The article highlights Canyons of the Ancients National Monument as Cortez’s “site to see.”
“With Mesa Verde National Park to the south and Canyons of the Ancients National Monument to the west, Cortez is definitely in the running of the most beautiful U.S. cities,” travel writer Kohleun Adamson writes in the article.
In an email, Adamson told The Journal that she tried to highlight places that couldn’t be experienced in full by just seeing them online.
“We had two main criteria, and you’d be surprised how difficult it was to make the cut,” Adamson wrote. “Firstly, you would be missing a huge part of what makes each place without going there in person and listening to birdsong, ducking into ancient structures, or feeling the refreshing mist on your face, etc. And secondly, we wanted to feature some of America’s hidden gems where you can really appreciate their beauty without crowds.”
Adamson said that Cortez stood out to her after visiting Mesa Verde National Park with her parents as a child and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share her personal special experience.
“I remembered visiting Mesa Verde National Park as a child on family vacation,” Adamson wrote. “That was over 20 years ago, and I still remember how awesome I thought the ancient stone dwellings were.”