26 of 101

Ute Indian Museum

- 17253 Chipeta Drive, Montrose
- Phone: 970-249-3098
- coloradohistory.org
- Cost: Adults, $3; seniors 65-plus, $2.50; children 6-16, $1.50; children younger than 6, free. Colorado Historical Society members and Friends of the Ute Indian Museum members are admitted free.
- The Ute Indian Museum is three miles south of downtown Montrose at the intersection of U.S. Highway 550 and Chipeta Road.

The Ute Indian Museum is one of the few museums in the country devoted solely to one tribe. The Ute people were the indigenous inhabitants of western Colorado, and the museum commemorates their life and culture.

The museum is on the original 8.65- acre homestead owned by Chief Ouray and his wife, Chipeta. Built in 1956 and expanded in 1998, the museum offers one of the most complete collections of the Ute people. The grounds include the Chief Ouray Memorial Park, Chipeta’s Crypt and a native plants garden. The Ute Museum sits in the heart of traditional Ute territory.

The museum’s winter hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, Oct. 16 through May 14 and is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sundays, from May 15 to Oct. 15.