Warm light from the setting sun gives an orange glow to a rock bluff overlooking a grassland.
Visit Cimarron National Grassland to experience the Santa Fe Trail. NPS Photo

Santa Fe National Historic Trail

Federal Recreation Area · Colorado · National Park Service

You can almost hear the whoops and cries of "All's set!" as trail hands hitched their oxen to freight wagons carrying cargo between western Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Follow the Santa Fe National Historic Trail through five states and you'll find adventure and evidence of past travelers who made this remarkable trip before you!

Plan your visit

Know before you go

Official site
www.nps.gov
Managed by
National Park Service

Getting there

Directions on Google Maps →

What's here

Highlights: Architecture and Building · Arts · Photography · Colonization and Settlement · Commerce · Trade · Explorers and Expeditions · Forts · Military · Native American Heritage · Tragic Events · Wars and Conflicts · Indian and Frontier Wars · Civil War · Spanish-American War · Westward Expansion · Grasslands · Rock Landscapes and Features · Scenic Views · Trails

Activities & features: Arts and Culture · Theater · Auto and ATV · Scenic Driving · Guided Tours · Self-Guided Tours - Auto · Hiking · Junior Ranger Program · Museum Exhibits

Photos

  • A wide river with green grass parks on the side.
    NPS Photo
  • emigrant wagons pulled by oxen and horses cross the prairie with people walking alongside
    NPS
  • desert landscape with a mountain that looks like a wagon from a distance, verdant green grasses
    NPS
  • A stone path leads into the distance next to adobe ruins.
    NPS Photo

Nearby parks

Parks of Colorado

Cheyenne Mountain State ParkNavajo State ParkHighline Lake State ParkLathrop State ParkJohn Martin Reservoir State ParkDinosaur National MonumentPaonia State ParkCastlewood Canyon State ParkRifle Gap State ParkFlorissant Fossil Beds National MonumentNorth Sterling State ParkYucca House National MonumentYampa River State ParkTrinidad Lake State ParkState Forest State ParkBarr Lake State ParkJackson Lake State ParkSweitzer Lake State ParkSpinney Mountain State ParkPearl Lake State ParkStagecoach State ParkSand Creek Massacre National Historic SiteRocky Mountain National ParkSteamboat Lake State ParkHarvey Gap State ParkCurecanti National Recreation AreaLake Pueblo State ParkRoxborough State ParkElkhead Reservoir State ParkStaunton State ParkEleven Mile State ParkGolden Gate Canyon State ParkVega State ParkMancos State ParkMesa Verde National ParkBent's Old Fort National Historic SiteRifle Falls State ParkSylvan Lake State ParkAmache National Historic SiteLory State ParkChatfield State ParkHovenweep National MonumentGreat Sand Dunes National Park & PreserveBoyd Lake State ParkColorado National MonumentFishers Peak State ParkCrawford State ParkBlack Canyon Of The Gunnison National ParkRidgway State ParkLone Mesa State ParkCherry Creek State ParkEldorado Canyon State ParkMueller State Park

54 parks mapped in Colorado

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Sources: National Park Service · updated 2026-08-12