Theodore Roosevelt Presidential LibraryPublic Lands Directory

Alerts and conditions

All clear. The managing agency, the National Weather Service and wildfire reporting show no current alerts.

Overview

In 1857, businessman and transportation entrepreneur John Butterfield was awarded a contract to establish an overland mail route between the eastern United States and growing populations in the Far West. What became known as the Butterfield Overland Trail made an arcing sweep across the southern rim of the country. Stagecoaches left twice a week carrying passengers, freight, and mail.

From the National Park Service

History

The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.

Plan your visit

Hours

Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail: The Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail is not a clearly marked hiking trail. Instead, it is a corridor that passes through communities, urban areas, public lands, and Wilderness. The route travels across a variety of land ownerships and management, including private land. Each location varies as to the hours of operation and access. Please contact individual trail sites before your visit for more information.

Getting there

Those portions of the Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail authorized by Congress include nearly 3,300 miles of historic trail.

Visitor centers

Weather

Due to the length of the trail, be sure to consult local weather sources for the region you'll be visiting. Check out the forecast with the National Weather Service and search for the area you'd like to visit: weather.gov

Phone: N/A

Whose lands these are

These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.

Photos

A historic stone wall stands in ruins next to a hiking trail leading into the Guadalupe Mountains NP
Old Pinery Butterfield Overland NHT · NPS Photo
A forest of tall, multi-armed Saguaro cacti stretches out towards the horizon.
Saguaro Forest on the Butterfield Overland NHT · NPS Photo
A neighborhood street lined with single story ranch homes.
Butterfield Station site at Picacho Village in Dona Ana County, NM · NPS Photo
A large stone monument sits on the side of a historic city street with brick buildings.
El Paso Station Marker · NPS Photo

Pair it with