Santa Fe Trail – CO

Bent's Old Fort is an 1833 fort located in Otero County in southeastern Colorado. The fort was originally built by Charles Bent, William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain to trade with Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Plains Indians and trappers for buffalo robes.

Comanche National Grassland, located in southeastern Colorado, contains both prairie grasslands and canyons; the sister grassland of Cimarron National Grassland.

John Martin Reservoir is a reservoir on the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado.

Ratón Pass is a 7,834 ft elevation mountain pass on the Colorado–New Mexico border in the western United States.

Day 1
Start your day early in La Junta with a hike in the Vogel Canyon Recreation Area. Follow the trails to a historic stage coach station, or hike the loops to view rock art. Return to town for a hearty lunch, then take your time at the Koshare Indian Museum. At night, enjoy dinner at a saloon or music at The Railyard before retiring.

Day 2
After breakfast, head to Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site to learn about the fur trade along this mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail. En route to Lamar, stop at the John W. Rawlings Heritage Center and Museum and the Boggsville Historic Site. Settle into a hotel in Lamar before enjoying a show at the Lamar Theatre. The next morning, head to the Sand Creek Massacre Historic Site to learn more about the history of this area.