A rocky bluff looks out on a flat plain of sparse vegetation.

Hike on the Santa Fe Trail

Santa Fe National Historic Trail

Travel the trail today and 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. Between 1821 and 1880, the Santa Fe Trail was primarily a commercial highway. There are a variety of hiking opportunities across the full length of the trail. We've selected a few places in Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico for you to check out.

Walk on the Trail Walk in the footsteps of history. Discover the same landscapes and imagine the hardships of those that have passed before you, as you look through their eyes on the same viewsheds. What is different? What is the same? Walking the trail is a different kind of hiking experience! In some places, the historic trail is a current modern-day hiking trail. In others, it could be a modern-day asphalt road. Experiences vary, so please check with individual locations for more details. Check out one of these opportunities to walk the trail: Missouri Trails Greenway 9000 Old Santa Fe Road, Kansas City Trail Info: This 2,000-foot trail segment, located on the property of the Hickman Mills School District, begins just northeast of the district’s administration building. No ruts or swales are visible, and the exact route along this corridor is not precisely known, but it passes to the north of the building and follows a gently meandering route that ends near the corner of 91st Street and Old Santa Fe Road. Kansas Cimarron National Grassland This 108,175-acre grassland covers portions of Morton and Stevens counties in southwestern Kansas Trail Info: The Santa Fe Trail's Cimarron Route cuts diagonally through this grassland. Colorado Comanche National Grassland This vast grassland covers more than 440,000 discontinuous acres in southeastern Colorado Trail Info: Several Santa Fe Trail routes coursed through these grasslands, including the Mountain Route, the Granada-Ft. Union Wagon Road, and the Aubry Cutoff. New Mexico Kiowa National Grassland The 137,000-acre grassland is located in two discrete units of northeastern New Mexico. Trail Info: Two miles of the Santa Fe Trail's Cimarron Route are located on the eastern unit of this grassland, about 15 miles north of Clayton. Safety Considerations For more location information: Places to Go on the Santa Fe Trail

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HikingColonization and SettlementCommerceTradeExplorers and ExpeditionsRanchesFoothills, Plains and ValleysFortsGrasslandsPrairiesHispanic American HeritageIndustryNative American HeritageScenic ViewsTrailsTransportationsanta fe national historic trailSanta Fe Trailthings to dohistoric trailhikewalkhistoryhistoric trailsNational TrailsBicentennialhikingtrailsColoradoKansasMissouriSanta Fe NHTNew Mexico

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