Scenic Byways List
Find Interesting Places to Visit
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Chimayo, NM
| Chimayo was founded in the early 1700s after the area was re-conquered by the Spanish.
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La Cueva National Historic District, NM
| The surrounding ranching community was established by Vicente Romero in the early 1850s purchased from several grantees of the Mora Land Grant.
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Villages of Conejos County, CO
| Migration of Spanish speaking settlers from New Mexico in the 1850s, primarily from Abiquiu and Santa Cruz, settled this area. But Mormon migration also brought settlers to this area.
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The Old West Town of Las Vegas, NM
| Twenty nine people in 1835 obtained from the Mexican government a land grant in order to establish "Nuestra Senora de los Dolores de Las Vegas" or "Our Lady of Sorrows of the Meadows".
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San Luis, Colorado's Oldest Town
| The first settlement was made in 1851 on the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant.
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The Spanish exploration & settlements
along the High Road to Taos, NM
| The history spans from Friar Marcos de Niza who in 1539 named the territory "The New Kingdom of St. Francis", to the Taos Pueblo revolt, to founding the Las Trampas mission, to the Treaty of Guadalupe.
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The Taos Pueblo, NM
| Taos Pueblo has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Two of the structures in the pueblo which still remain are considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the US.
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The Plaza
| The old Spanish settlements of New Mexico were built according to a plan proscribed by the Spanish Empire in 1573.
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Trinidad, CO and the Santa Fe Trail
| When Trinidad was founded in 1842 by Mexican traders anxious to take advantage of the trade opportunities offered by the Santa Fe Trail, the area was still a part of Mexico.
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The Wild west history of Cimarron, NM
| Cimarron was a wild town, the haunt of such notables as William (Buffalo Bill) Cody who planned his Wild West Show here; Kit Carson, the legendary guide; and Davey Crockett, the nephew of the famous frontiersman.
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Bent's Fort and the Santa Fe Trail
| In 1833, Bent's Fort was completed. It was a trading fort, not a military fort. It was the largest structure of its time between the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean.
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Fort Garland, CO
| Lt. Col. Kit Carson commanded Hispanic New Mexican Volunteers at Fort Garland from 1866-67. During the 1870's, Buffalo Soldiers were posted here, a unit created after the Civil War.
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Fort Union, NM
| Fort Union was the largest U.S. military installation in the Southwest during the 19th century. Shipments arrived over the Santa Fe Trail
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Maxwell Land Grant in NM
| Cimarron was once home to Lucien Maxwell, the one time owner of the long contested Maxwell Land Grant of close to two million acres.
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Sangre de Cristo Land Grant in CO
| Started under Spanish rule, the system of land grants was continued by the Mexican government after they gained independence from Spain in 1821.
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Baca Land Grant
| The Baca family has been prominent in the area of Nuevo Mexico since at least 1600 when Cristobal Baca I arrived with his family as a soldier-colonist.
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Chimayo Pilgrimage Site, NM
| Today nearly 300,000 pilgrims come per year.
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Tucson Missions of San Xavier del Bac
and Tumacacori, AZ
| Father Euseblo Francisco Kino, a Jesuit born in the Tyrolean Alps and educated in Trent, Austria, was assigned to Sonora in 1688. Four years later in 1692, he founded the Mission San Xavier del Bac which became a major mission in the area.
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From France to Conejos County, CO
| Recruited in 1839 to come to America as a missionary, Father Machebeuf sailed from France to New York with his friend and fellow priest, Jean Baptiste Lamy.
Father Lamy would become the Vicar Apostolic of New Mexico and Arizona headquartered in Santa Fe, while Father Machebeuf would become Vicar Apostolic over Colorado and Utah with headquarters in Denver.
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San Luis, CO Religious Heritage
| Many men who settled in San Luis were members of an ancient order of lay brothers called La Coffradia or La Hermandad de Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno.
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The Santa Fe Trail
| After 1821 when Mexico won its independence from Spain, Mexico opened the Santa Fe Trail as an international route for American and Mexican traders and trade with the US began.
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Bent's Fort and the Santa Fe Trail
| In 1833, Bent's Fort was completed. It was a trading fort, not a military fort. It was the largest structure of its time between the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean.
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Trinidad, CO and the Santa Fe Trail
| When Trinidad was founded in 1842 by Mexican traders anxious to take advantage of the trade opportunities offered by the Santa Fe Trail, the area was still a part of Mexico.
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Kit Carson
| Kit Carson came to Taos as a young man in 1826 having joined a wagon train west from Missouri.
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Spanish Explorations
| Friar Marcos de Niza in 1539 made an exploration of the area of New Mexico and reached the pueblo of Zuni where he took possession of all the surrounding country and named the territory "The New Kingdom of St. Francis".
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The Pueblo Revolt
| Taos Pueblo is credited with leading the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 against the Spanish.
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The Taos Pueblo, NM
| Taos Pueblo has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Two of the structures in the pueblo which still remain are considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the US.
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The San Juan Pueblo, NM
| The San Juan Pueblo is the site of the original capital of New Mexico established by Juan de Onate under Spanish rule in 1598.
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The San Ildefanso Pueblo, NM
| The pueblo is best known as the home of the late Maria Martinez, internationally famous for her black-on-black matte pottery.
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The Nambe Pueblo, NM
The Picuris Pueblo, NM
The Santa Clara Pueblo, NM
The Teseque Pueblo, NM
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