Overview
The Old Spanish Trail was in fact a network of trails, crossing the mountanous desert terrain between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California. One of the most difficult and hazardous routes in 19th century America, it connected the trading hub of Santa Fe with Los Angeles and the Pacific coast.
Importance
After the Santa Fe Trail was established in 1821, traders began to look for a route west from Santa Fe, to the coast of southern California. Such a route would effectively link California with both the American midwest via the Santa Fe Trail and the heart of Mexico via the Camino Real de Tierra.
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Traders from New Mexico brought cloths, fabrics, and serapes from Mexico over the trail, loaded on mules. Once they reached California, they would exchange these goods for horses and mules from local ranches.
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Manifest Destiny
Due to its highly dangerous terrain and unfavorable conditions along the way, there were not as many settlers along the trail as the far more popular and well-known Oregon Trail. However, a large amount of Mormons used and settled along the trail after the area was incorporated into the United States in 1848. However, this was short lived, as soon afterwards other routes to California were discovered and the Old Spanish Trails fellow into disuse.
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Click on the map above to learn more about the various routes on the Old Spanish Trail
Route
The first route to be discovered is called the Armijo Route, after Antonio Armijo's expedition in 1829. It heads directly west from Santa Fe, crossing Arizona and starting to head southwest after it reaches Nevada. The second most popular route, the Northern Route or Main Route, heads northwest from Santa Fe to avoid the Colorado River and the rocky terrain that the Armijo Route crosses. The Northern Route aims to use Utah's green pastures and more forgiving terrain to its advantage, avoiding at least part of the mountainous terrain.
