Santa Fe Trail is in southeast Colorado. It follows US 350 from Trinidad to La Junta and US 50 east to the Kansas state line. Both highways are two-lane paved roads that are suitable for all types of vehicles. The byway is nearly 190 miles long and usually remains open year-round.
Santa Fe Trail retraces the route once trekked by pioneers heading west in the 1800s. The Mountain Branch of the trail traveled through what is today Trinidad and crossed Raton Pass, a mountain gap used by Native Americans for centuries. Near the byway’s midpoint is Bent’s Old Fort, once a trading post and cultural melting pot, now a National Historic Site. Santa Fe Trail crosses southeast Colorado’s prairie with the mountains in the distance. A portion of the byway passes through Comanche National Grassland.
Camping is available at John Martin Reservoir near Hasty. The camp-ground is located below the dam and has 64 campsites. Nearly half of the sites have electric and water hookups. Camping is also available at Trinidad Lake. The campground here has 62 sites; 49 sites have electric hookups.