Santa Fe Trail
National Scenic Byway The Colorado stretch (182 mi) of a 564 mi national scenic byway that also runs through New Mexico.
About the Santa Fe Trail
One of America's first great trade routes, the Santa Fe Trail was critical to our country's westward expansion. Visit historic sites and landmarks like Bent's Fort, Trinidad, Raton Pass, Cimarron, Fort Union, Pecos, Point of Rocks, and Santa Fe. Enjoy spectacular scenery, from rugged mountains to the plains.
Federal Highway Administration, America's Byways's own description, in its words. Byway page on America's Byways.
Camping along the byway
- Mile 53 · 2.4 mi offJohn Martin Reservoir State Park · State park · 213 sites · reservable
- Mile 171 · 3.4 mi offTrinidad Lake State Park · State park · 73 sites · reservable
Public campgrounds within 5 miles of the road as the crow flies, in order along the byway; each one's page has its facts, season and weather by month.
The same byway in other states
- Santa Fe Trail in New Mexico · 383 mi
About this page's facts
The line is the Federal Highway Administration's scenic byways layer (HEPGIS, a snapshot of 2022-06-24, a US government work), cut at the state line and simplified for the map; the length is the line's. The designation is the program's own: the national tiers from FHWA's America's Byways roster, the rest from the layer's designation field. Road conditions, closures and seasonal gates change: check the agency's own page and the state's road conditions before you go.