Learn About the Park

Visitors interact with costumed volunteers in the traderoom
Visitors interact with costumed volunteers in the traderoom

NPS photo

The Story Behind Bent's Fort

Congress designated Bent's Old Fort a unit of the National Park System in 1960 to tell the story of how the fort helped develop the west in the mid-1800s. The Fort is located on the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, a trail of international commerce. Trade brought many cultures together. Relationships developed and lives were forever changed in the aftermath of the US-Mexican War.

 
An oxen backlight by the setting sun
Photos & Multimedia

The reconstructed fort with all its furnished rooms provides an unique setting to recreate or explore scenes of the past.

A young visitor watches a rooster in the plaza
Become a Junior Ranger

Visit the park, experience the fort using the booklet, complete the pages for your age group and receive a Junior Ranger Badge.

The Park Store has a variety of western frontier book, videos, maps, 1840 trade goods for sale.
Western National Parks Association Store

Complete your visit by checking out the Western National Parks Association Store at the rear of the fort.

Horses on leads in the cottonwood trees with turning leaves.
Nature & Science

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site is located in the high plains along the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado.

A snow covered landscape with the tall walls of the adobe fort in the foreground.
History & Culture

Explore the confluence of commerce, culture, and cooperation at a borderlands crossroads.

A park ranger speaks into a microphone at a special event.
Management

Learn more about how the park and its resources are managed.

Last updated: November 21, 2023

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

35110 State Highway 194
La Junta, CO 81050

Phone:

719 383-5010
Staff are available Monday through Friday to take your call from 9:00 a. m. - 3:30 p. m. Mountain Time. If no one is available to take your call, please leave a message, and someone will return your call as soon as possible.

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