The Santa Fe Trail, one of the most important overland trade routes in North America, linking Missouri with the Mexican — and later American — Southwest from 1821 to 1880, carried goods, people, ideas, and cultures across nearly 900 miles of prairie and desert. The Mountain Route of the Santa Fe Trail follows the Arkansas River through southeastern Colorado before climbing the rugged spine of Raton Pass into New Mexico. A longer but safer alternative to the parallel Cimarron Trail, it is anchored by hubs like Bent's Old Fort in Otero County and Fort Union near Watrous, where the Mountain and Cimarron routes converge. Landmarks such as Wagon Mound guided travelers across the plains, while the pass itself marked the dramatic threshold between the high plains and the northern edge of the Southwest. Together, these sites trace a corridor of commerce, conflict, and cultural exchange that shaped the region long before railroads replaced the wagon ruts.

Follow the Historic Trail

Travelers can approximate the Mountain Route by starting at Watrous, New Mexico, visiting Fort Union National Monument, then heading north on I-25 over Raton Pass into Trinidad, Colorado. From there, Hwy 350 leads northeast across the open prairie to La Junta and Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site in Otero County, after which Hwy 50 carries you east along the Arkansas River toward Kansas and the vicinity of Cimarron, Kansas. This modern sequence of highways mirrors the original trail's flow from mountain gateway to river corridor to plains crossing. - AsNotedIn