Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Santa Fe Trail
ยป
Mileage: 285 miles
Why Go?
History buffs will love this day-long spin through southeastern Colorado. Although the of-
ficial byway follows the original trail for 188 miles from the Kansas border into Trinidad,
you can cut the route down to its best bits and make it a fun four-hour journey.
The Route
An endless prairie unfurls on both sides of the open two-lane highway as you take Hwy
350 northeast of Trinidad to La Junta. The scenery is all grasslands and wheat fields, sugar-
beet farms, horse corrals and railroad yards. One of the best parts of driving the Santa Fe
Trail is this countryside.
The signature sight is Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site. Set just north of the Arkan-
sas River - the natural and official border between the US and Old Mexico until 1846 - the
fort was once a cultural crossroads. From 1833 to 1849 Native Americans, Mexicans and
Americans with gold-rush dreams met, mingled, traded, danced and clashed here. The well-
restored adobe fort has a blacksmith's shop, wood shop and fully stocked general store. The
knowledgeable staff in period clothing lead tours, and a 1-mile trail runs around the fort to
the edge of the Arkansas River and back to the parking lot.
Kit Carson frequented the fort, but his last base of operations and final resting place is
about 16 miles east of here in Boggsville. If time is short, skip Boggsville, turn back at the
fort, and head west again into more history.
You'll want to stop at Iron Spring, where you can see authentic Santa Fe Trail wagon
ruts and, if daylight is on your side and you've made an advance reservation, you can drive
to the famed Picketwire Dinosaur Tracksite, where dinosaur footprints are frozen in time.
Both sites are in the Comanche National Grassland.
When the Santa Fe Trail brings you back to Main St in Trinidad, don't forget to stop at
the fabulous Trinidad History Museum to round out the journey.
