Old Spanish Trail Retracement at Aztec Ruins
in New Mexico
On the evening of November 17, 1829, Antonio Armijo and his caravan of about 60 men and 100 mules crossed Las Animas River at a shallow point near here and made camp. Armijo and his men were just beginning their journey on what would later be called the Old Spanish Trail. Pack mule caravans and travelers used the Old Spanish Trail as a trade route between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California, which were part of Northern Mexico at the time.
The Old Spanish Trail was only used during a couple of decades in the 19th century, it evolved as a combination of the indigenous footpaths that were used for centuries prior, early trade and exploration routes, and horse and mule trails across the region. The overland route was necessary to build the trade between New Mexico and California; to build the strong trade network of woolen goods of New Mexico exchanged for the horses and mules from California. This was happening at the same time as the trade of contraband goods and enslaved Native Americans.
After the end of the Mexican American War in 1848, the United States took control of most of the Southwest. New overland routes were established, and a wagon route was opened to southern California, and use of the Old Spanish Trail sharply declined. Site Information Location (Aztec Ruin National Monument, San Juan County New Mexico (36.8327, -107.9956)) Available Facilities The Visitor Center has accessible restrooms, museum and informtion, picnic area, walking trails and a hertiage garden.
- States
- New Mexico
- Trail type
- National Monument trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Albuquerque, NM · 142 mi · ~4 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 36.8329°, -107.9959°
About Aztec Ruins National Monument
This trail is inside Aztec Ruins National Monument, a national monument managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/old-spanish-trail-retracement-at-aztec-ruins.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/azru/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Old Spanish Trail Retracement at Aztec Ruins and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
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Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.