Good forOutdoor loversHistory buffs
William Becknell opened the Santa Fe Trail in the fall of 1821, connecting the Missouri River frontier to Santa Fe across roughly 900 miles of plains, desert, and mountain terrain. The route ran for 59 years — commercial highway, military road during the Mexican-American War, engine of westward expansion — until the railroad arrived in Santa Fe in 1880 and made wagon transport obsolete. Ruts from the wagons are still visible in the earth. The National Park Service preserves the trail across five states as the Santa Fe National Historic Trail.
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Editorial content compiled with AI assistance. Place details verified against public records.