National Scenic Byway · Colorado, New Mexico

Santa Fe Trail

Follows the old Santa Fe Trail trade route across Colorado's plains past Bent's Old Fort, over Raton Pass and down through New Mexico to Santa Fe.

Also known as Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway; Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway

Santa Fe Trail: Arkansas River

Photo: U.S. Department of Transportation, America's Byways collection (National Archives), Public domain, source

  • Length565 miles[1]CDOT says the Colorado portion is 188 miles.
  • Drive time12 hours to drive the whole byway[1]FHWA's "time to allow"; CDOT says 4 hours for the Colorado portion.
  • RoadsIn New Mexico the Mountain Branch follows U.S. 64 south of Raton through Cimarron[3]Partial: no official page we found lists every road on the route.
  • Start and endSoutheast Colorado (Bent's Old Fort, Trinidad) over Raton Pass to Santa Fe[1]
  • Fees and passesNone for the byway[1]Historic sites along it may charge.
  • Best seasonNot verified
  • SurfaceAll roads are paved[4]
  • Vehicle notesShoulders are narrow (2 feet) in places, and summer temperatures may reach 100 degrees F, so carry water.[4]
  • Seasonal closuresFew if any seasonal limits; the I-25 segment over Raton Pass (7,834 feet) is the likeliest to close in bad weather, though closures are rare.[4]

Before you go

Road status and weather can change quickly. Check the official road-conditions link before you go.

Facts last checked against the sources on October 29, 2026.

About the drive

This byway traces one of the country's first great trade routes, used most heavily from the 1820s to the 1870s. In Colorado it follows the Arkansas River across the plains past Lamar and La Junta to Bent's Old Fort, a rebuilt adobe trading post, then turns southwest to Trinidad.

From Trinidad the Mountain Branch crosses Raton Pass into New Mexico and runs on U.S. 64 to Cimarron. A second branch, the Cimarron Cutoff, comes in from Clayton past Wagon Mound. The two met near Watrous, and the trail continued past Fort Union, Las Vegas and Pecos to the plaza in Santa Fe.

The full route is long: FHWA suggests 12 hours of driving, so most people take it in sections over several days. Watch for wagon ruts still visible in the prairie near the historic sites.

Stops along the way

  1. Santa Fe Plaza

    A granite marker here marks the end of the trail.

    Official information · 35.68742, -105.93853

  2. Fort Union National Monument

    Adobe ruins of the fort that guarded the trail.

    Official information · 35.90745, -105.01212

  3. Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site

    Reconstructed adobe trading post at the byway's midpoint.

    Official information · 38.04299, -103.43098

  4. La Junta

    Arkansas Valley town near Bent's Old Fort.

    Official information · 37.98502, -103.54384

  5. Lamar

    Prairie town with a Colorado Welcome Center and the Big Timbers Museum.

    Official information · 38.08724, -102.62076

  6. Cimarron

    Old trail town, home of the 1873 St. James Hotel.

    Official information · 36.51088, -104.91584

  7. Raton Pass

    Mountain gap on the Colorado-New Mexico line.

    Official information · 36.99022, -104.48275

  8. Trinidad

    Mountain Branch town with the Santa Fe Trail Museum.

    Official information · 37.16947, -104.50055

Stops are listed in order along the route; the numbers match the map. Stop locations come from the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey place-names database, the stop's own official page or, where noted in the data, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

Food along the way

Farmers markets within about 25 miles

  • Tri-County Farmers' MarketLas Vegas, NM · about 0.1 mi from the route
  • First Street MarketRaton, NM · about 0.7 mi from the route
  • Trinidad Community Farmers MarketTrinidad, CO · about 12.2 mi from the route
  • Espanola Farmers MarketEspanola, NM · about 23.1 mi from the route

Markets keep their own seasons and hours, so check with the market before you go. Find more in the Farmers Market Finder.

Keep exploring

Scenic drives nearby

More scenic drives in Colorado, New Mexico

Food and farms in the area

Sources

  1. America's Byways: Santa Fe Trail (FHWA) (checked 2026-10-29)
  2. Santa Fe Trail (Colorado Department of Transportation) (checked 2026-10-29)
  3. The Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway (New Mexico Tourism Department) (checked 2026-10-29)
  4. Santa Fe Trail: Visitor Services (byways.org, FHWA National Scenic Byways Program) (archived copy) (checked 2026-10-29)
  5. Route line: U.S. DOT scenic byways map service (geo.dot.gov), retrieved 2026-10-29.

Written by VanillaGoods from the cited official sources. This is a drive to know, not a ranking. Road status and weather can change quickly; check the official road-conditions link before you go.

Spot something out of date? Email help@vanillagoods.com (help@vanillagoods.com).

More drives in Colorado · All scenic drives