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

Follow the routes of mule pack trains across the Southwest on the Old Spanish National Historic Trail between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California. New Mexican traders moved locally produced merchandise across what are now six states to exchange for mules and horses.

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.

What to see and do

Activities

  • Arts and Culture
  • Theater
  • Auto and ATV
  • Scenic Driving
  • Hiking
  • Horse Trekking

Plan your visit

Hours

Old Spanish National Historic Trail: There are many places of history and commemoration on the Old Spanish National Historic Trail to visit. Museums, interpretive centers, and historic sites provide information and interpretation. Please contact each site before you go to obtain current information on closures, changes in hours, and fees.

Getting there

You can visit many sites of the Old Spanish National Historic Trail over the 2,700-mile historic route that crosses 6 states.

Weather

Due to the length of Old Spanish National Historic 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

hikers walk beside a river with cottonwoods alongside the river
Rio Chama River, Abiquiú, New Mexico · NPS
desert scrub in foreground, spiky mountains in background, clouds
Sierra Blanca, San Luis Valley, Colorado · NPS
desert scenery, dead tree, blue sky with puffy coulds
San Rafael Swell, Utah · NPS
a river carves through the landscape, greenery in the foreground, mountains and redrock backdrop
Virgin River Canyon, Arizona · NPS
rocky trail through desert with yucca, mountain in the background
Old Spanish Trail segment, Nevada · NPS
trail through desert scrub with Joshua trees, mountains in the distance, puffy clouds
Mojave Road, California · NPS

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