Santa Fe Trail

Understand

Parts of this route are preserved in the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, a unit of the United States National Park System. However, in general, you can't walk, ride or drive on the Trail in these (or most other) areas, because all that remains of the Trail are shallow ruts that are too fragile to survive the boots of hikers, let alone the tires of cars or ORVs. This itinerary is intended to let you parallel the Trail and view it where you can, rather than walk on it. For a highly amusing, if somewhat risque, account of life on the trail, see the historical novel Flashman and the Redskins by George MacDonald Fraser (1982). The history is quite accurate.

Prepare

Step number one is to decide exactly how you're going to cover this ground. Although some walk or bicycle the nearly 1000 miles of the Trail, it's more practical to drive from point to point along the route, pausing to sight-see or hike where there is something notable. This guide will presume you're one of the drivers. If you're renting a car to make this trip, it'll be worth checking rates, and decide whether to make a roundtrip. The starting point is out in the boonies, so the nearest car-rental companies are some distance away, and likely to have a significant drop-off charge if you return the vehicle other than where you rented it. Although the Trail bends significantly southward, temperatures don't change much because the Trail rises as it heads south. Santa Fe is at 7,000 feet, and there are two significant passes to cross. Accordingly, you may find it cooler when you get to the "desert Southwest" than when you left (it'll certainly be less humid). Pack accordingly. The best time to do this trip from a weather standpoint is probably late summer (August to early September), when highs may be around 80-90 °F (27-32 °C) at the start and will get as low as the seventies at the high end. Most attractions along the Trail don't require advance preparation. However, if you're planning to see Trail-related things at Pecos National Historical Park (see below under "Home stretch"), you may have to make inquiries in advance. Lodging is usually available in larger towns without reservation. Santa Fe is an exception; if you're going to spend any time there, definitely make reservations.

Get in

The Santa Fe Trail is considered to originate near the small town of Boonville, Missouri. Boonville is about equidistant between the major airports of St. Louis and Kansas City, and nearby Columbia has an airport with limited commuter service. If you don't insist on complete purity in your trip, it's a good idea to treat Columbia as your starting point, as there's more to do there, along with more services for the traveler. Interstate highway 70 between St. Louis and Kansas City passes near the Boonville and through Columbia.

Drive

You can drive this route with no more than one night spent on the road (somewhere in western Kansas, say Dodge City), but it's not recommended. For one thing, you'll have little time to see things along the way; for another, it takes time to get to the Trail's starting point at Boonville, if you're arriving via St. Louis or other major travel hubs, and you won't start the first day as early as you might need to. For sightseeing and getting something out of the experience, it's better to plan on either two or three nights on the road. The suggested legs below presume a three-night journey, with the first and (particularly) fourth days quite short so that you can enjoy the high proportion of interesting sights at the two ends of the Trail. To follow a two-night itinerary, plan to spend the first night in eastern Kansas, then follow the "Mountain Route" below and stay in Trinidad or Raton the second night. The "Cimarron Cutoff" option is less satisfactory as a two-night itinerary, due to the emptiness of southwestern Kansas and far western Oklahoma where you'd spend the second night.

Boonville to Independence The first leg of this trip takes you from the Trail's starting point to Independence, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. (It's wise to get the first night's lodging on the west side of the Kansas City area, to shorten the next day, although Independence is on the east side. Be prepared to fight through rush-hour traffic when you're done with your viewing, but it'll be worth the effort to avoid the travel fatigue—although the Trail's original travelers probably wouldn't have much sympathy for you!) This is the section of the Trail that has seen the most 20th-century development, and you may be tempted to simply barrel down I-70 to Independence. However, short sections of the Trail and associated structures are sprinkled through this section, if you take the time to find them. Start your journey by visiting two sites near 1MISSING WIKILINK Boonville: Katy Trail State Park and Boone's Lick State Historic Site. The Katy Trail is an attraction in its own right, parts of it lying along the Lewis and Clark Trail as a fine bicycle path reaching from St. Charles (a

Stay safe

Except in parts of the Kansas City area, crime isn't much of a problem on this itinerary, and even Kansas City isn't a hotbed of crime compared to other big cities. Your main issues are weather and remoteness. Practically the entire route east of New Mexico lies in "Tornado Alley," and attention to Tornado safety during the spring and summer months is a good idea. Summer on the Trail can be broiling hot; keep extra water in your vehicle. Use sunscreen if you get out of the car, as your chances of being under a cloudless sky are very good. Conversely, if you do the Trail in the winter, be prepared for serious blizzards and ice storms that can make driving on the minor roads, and even on the interstate, a hazardous proposition. Cellular-phone coverage along the route is generally adequate, but during blizzards it may be difficult for help to reach you even if you do make cell-phone contact with emergency services. One "advantage" (or is it a drawback?) that you have over early Trail travelers is that the chances of dangerous encounters with wildlife are much reduced. You'll see bison (buffalo) in places, particularly if you follow the mountain route, but interactions with them will be nonexistent unless you get out of your car and try to have an interaction (which is emphatically not recommended—they're not just big cows, they have tempers and can do a lot of damage if provoked). Rattlesnakes can be found all along the route; take sensible precautions if you get out and hike (i.e., don't poke around under bushes and in crevices, make a little noise when walking along overgrown trail), but they'll leave you alone if you leave them alone, and paranoia is not indicated. Possibly your biggest "wildlife" concern is with ticks, which are prevalent along the route and can carry disease, so do a quick check of exposed body parts and near clothes seams after you hike. Mosquitoes in this area can be annoying, but are much less so than in wetter areas, and don't carry diseases of any significance here.

Go next

Santa Fe is, pretty well by definition, the end of the Trail. It's also a fantastic place to spend a few days luxuriating after your trip, with Taos, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Bandelier National Monument, and other marvels of north central New Mexico nearby. If you need to return to your starting point and would prefer not to simply retrace your steps, an interesting alternative is to follow a more modern "trail" between Midwest and Southwest, Route 66. Proceed south from Santa Fe to Albuquerque and pick up the old highway there, following the Route 66 itinerary in reverse until you get to or near where you came from. (You can shorten the return trip slightly by going instead to the uninspiring village of Clines Corners about 70 miles east of Albuquerque on old Route 66, but there's absolutely nothing noteworthy there, while Albuquerque has a number of interesting attractions.) If you're in a hurry, you can bolt down I-25; if you have some time, the Turquo