National Historic Trail

The Old Spanish Trail and its history

History of the The Old Spanish Trail' roots stem from American Indian trade routes. Two of those routes ran north and south along the eastern and western margins of the upper Rio Grande Valley, between New Mexico and the Colorado San Luis Valley.

The Old Spanish Trail links Santa Fe, New Mexico and Los Angeles, California together.

Accounts of The Old Spanish Trail, its role and events in our nation's history are numerous. They include Kit Carson's journey back to the East Coast to report the discovery of gold in California, the fur, mule, horse, sheep, and textile trades that followed in the Great Gold Rush.

Southern Utah is a very important corridor as it is the place where all of these trails came together. Over 100 miles of the 1,200-mile trail lies in Southern Utah' Iron and Washington counties. About a third of the trail is in the Escalante Valley and surrounding area. Famous explorers have traveled the trail, including Fathers Athanasio Dominguez and Velez de Escalante in 1776, who turned back after heavy winter storms stopped them from reaching California. They traveled as far north as Provo, Utah but gave up between present-day Milford, Utah and Cedar City, Utah in Escalante Valley, where they were documented as "casting lots". From Santa Fe, New Mexico to California, you would end up in Southern Utah following these trails.

The trail from Santa Fe branched into two routes. The South or Main Branch headed northwest past the Colorado San Juan Mountains to nearby Green River, Utah. The North Branch extended north into the Colorado San Luis Valley and crossed west over Co Chetopa Pass to follow the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers to meet the Southern Branch near Green River, Utah.
From central Utah the trail headed southwest to a territory that is now shared by Utah, Nevada and Arizona. It crossed southern Nevada and passed through the Mojave Desert to San Gabriel Mission and Los Angeles.

• The Dominguez-Escalante Expeditions Journal:

Through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico in 1776

• I Walked to Zion:
- Young Pioneers on the Mormon Trail

• The Gathering of Zion:
- The Story of the Mormon Trail

• National Geographic's Guide to:
- Lewis and Clark Trail

• Hiking Historic Trails
- Utah's Favorite Hiking Trails

• Scenic Driving - Travel guides
- Scenic Driving in Utah

• Historical reading
- The Old Spanish Trail

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