• 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

Management

  • Established in 2000
  • 404 miles long (2013)
 

Added to the National Trails System in October 2000, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Royal Road of the Interior) National Historic Trail recognizes the primary route between the colonial Spanish capital of Mexico City and the Spanish provincial capitals at San Juan de Los Caballeros (1598-1600); San Gabriel (1600-1609); and Santa Fe (1610-1821). The national historic trail extends 404 miles from El Paso, Texas, to Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico.

The Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service are charged with joint planning and administration of the trail. A Comprehensive Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement for the trail was completed in April 2004, followed by a Record of Decision in September 2004. The Comprehensive Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement is available for reading or downloading.

To learn more about BLM administration of the trail, visit their website at:

www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/el_camino_real_de.html

Trail administrative activities include:

Certification

Challenge Cost Share

 

National Trails System
The National Historic Trails System, established by the National Trails System Act of 1968, commemorates historic routes and promotes their preservation and development for public use. National historic trails recognize diverse facets of history such as prominent past routes of exploration, migration, trade, communication, and military action. The historic trails generally consist of remnant sites and trail segments, and thus are not necessarily contiguous. Although national historic trails are administered by federal agencies, land ownership may be in public or private hands.

Learn more about the National Trails System, including National Historic, Scenic, and Recreation Trails. View the National Trails System map.

 

Our Mission
We collaborate with partners to provide leadership and coordination in the planning, protection, development, and interpretation of our national historic trails and Route 66 for public use and benefit.

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.