• Two-wheeled carretas carried goods up El Camino from Mexico City in 1598; walking the trail in the Jornada del Muerto, a scorching 90-mile stretch of El Camino wherein colonists had to leave the cool Rio Grande to continue their journey north

    El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro

    National Historic Trail NM,TX

Cooperative Research

Many people, institutions, and agencies are researching the history of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. Through the Challenge Cost Share Program, the National Park Service forms partnerships with many different groups to encourage research activities along the trail. Our collective goal is to to protect, preserve, and commemorate the history and properties associated with El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.

A broad range of research topics are eligible for cost share funding. They could include: documenting a structure's history and architectural fabric and design in anticipation of stabilization or preservation actions; studies of trail sites that may be eligible for certification or nomination to the National Register of Historic Places; general research into the trail's history in a particular area that will contribute to an interpretive program; and many others.

Go to the link(s) at the top of this page to access completed research projects. Trailwide research covers the entire trail across New Mexico, Texas, and various Mexican states.

Did You Know?

Traces of a dirt road, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, stretch across a southern New Mexico desert landscape

Throughout the 17th century, Santa Fe was the only incorporated Spanish town north of Chihuahua. Soon after its establishment in 1610, Santa Fe became the terminus for trade caravans from Mexico City, which traveled on El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro for 1,500 miles.