Santa Fe Trail - New Mexico

Santa Fe Trail - New Mexico

Parks Directory of the United States / National Scenic BywaysAddress:c/o Santa Fe Trail Association
RR 3
Larned, KS 67550

Phone:620-285-2054
Web: santafetrailnm.org Description:One of America's first great traderoutes, the Santa Fe Trail (1821-1880) was also critical to the westwardexpansion of the United States. Featuring spectacular and rugged scenery, the section of the trail located in present-day New Mexico offers access to a number of state parks, Carson and Santa Fe national forests, Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Fort Union, Kit Carson Museum, and the Santa Fe Interpretive Center and Museum. The area around the Santa Fe Trail includes more than 20 HistoricDistricts and more than 30 individual sites on theNational Register of Historic Places, most of which aredirectly related to the trail.
Legth: 381 miles (New Mexico section); 565 miles (entire byway). Start/Endpoint: Byway runs from Santa Fe to Springer, following US 85, I-25, and several state highways, then forks into two routes. The northern route runs along NM 21 and US 64 to the Colorado state line near Raton; and the eastern route runs along US 56, NM 453, and NM 406 to Clayton, and then along NM 410 northeast to the Oklahoma State line. Time to Allow: 8 hours (New Mexico section); 12 hours (entire byway) Designation/Year: National Scenic Byway (1998).

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