Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway- Mountain Branch
- Start: Holly, CO
- End: Trinidad, CO
- Last Modified: 2012-03-30 22:39:05
- Total Mileage: 184 Miles
- Number of stops: 30
Description
The National Historic Santa Fe Trail extends for 900 miles from Missouri to Santa Fe. Colorado's portion of the National Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway parallels the old trail for 184 miles alongside the Arkansas and Purgatoire Rivers. Travelers experience a diversity of landscapes on the Mountain Branch from prairies and canyons to high alpine forests. From 1821 to 1880 the Santa Fe Trail served as an international trade route between Missouri and the Mexican frontiers. Long before man used the trail, dinosaurs migrated along this route. Native Americans hunted the rich grasslands for buffalo and game and shared their lands with trappers and traders. Trail traffic increased once trade was opened up with Mexico. Military forts were established to protect travelers from Indian raids. The buffalo were eventually wiped out and the Indians driven from their hunting grounds by the military.The coming of the railroad began the demise of the old Santa Fe Trail but contributed to a diversity of ethnicities who built the railroad and took part in Colorado's gold rush. Today, Santa Fe Trail travelers can find traces of early trail inhabitants throughout the byway, including dinosaur track sites, Native American rock art, teepee rings, fire circles, and wagon ruts and swales. Visit the Byway's national treasures, settlements, ghost towns, trading posts, forts, stage stops, homes of the famous, towns of the infamous, and ruins of once thriving cattle ranches and coal towns.
