US Highway 491: Utah to Cortez – Colorado

Leaving the red rock mesas of southeastern Utah behind, we begin our journey south on U.S. Highway 491 as it crosses into Colorado just east of Monticello. This 43-mile stretch of highway offers a scenic and surprisingly quiet drive through one of the lesser-traveled corners of the Four Corners region. While it may not have the fame of nearby U.S. 160 or the mountain vistas of U.S. 550, US-491 makes up for it with wide-open views, peaceful high desert landscapes, and a strong sense of the rural West.

Our route heads southeast through high, semi-arid plateaus dotted with pinon pines, sagebrush, and the occasional outcrop of sandstone. Before long, we reach Dove Creek, a small agricultural community known as the “Pinto Bean Capital of the World.” At Dove Creek, we intersect with CO-141, a northbound highway which will take you to Nucla and beyond.

As we continue southbound, we roll past the tiny communities of Pleasant View, Yellow Jacket, Lewis, and Arriola. These are more than just dots on a map—they’re living pieces of Colorado’s agricultural backbone. Fields of beans and wheat stretch for miles, occasionally interrupted by silos, irrigation rigs, and quiet farmsteads. If you’re keeping an eye out for local history, the area is rich with Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites, many of which are unmarked but not far from the roadside. For a deeper dive, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument lies just to the west, accessible from nearby county roads.

Eventually, we approach Cortez, the regional hub for southwestern Colorado. Entering the city from the northwest, US-491 makes a sweeping curve that shifts our direction to the south-southwest. This curvature marks the highway’s alignment as it prepares to meet U.S. Highway 160, just west of downtown Cortez. We end our drive at this busy intersection, where US-491 feeds directly into W. Main Street, offering access to lodging, restaurants, and local attractions.

Whether you’re headed east into the mountains, west toward ancient ruins, or south toward New Mexico, this stretch of US-491 is a rewarding drive in its own right—a quiet, spacious slice of Colorado that connects history, agriculture, and wide-open skies.