New Mexico retracement trail dedicated on National Trails Day

by Terry Heslin, National Trails Lead with Bureau of Land Management New Mexico

On June 2, 2018, more than 100 outdoor and history enthusiasts gathered on Buckman Road at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Dead Dog Trailhead of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail. The event celebrated National Trails Day, the 50th Anniversary of the National Trails System, and the dedication of a new 14.7-mile retracement trail that connects the city of Santa Fe, NM to Diablo Canyon Recreation Area and offers visitors an unbroken path for hiking, biking, and other activities. This was a Federal Lands Access Project and multiagency partnership between Santa Fe County, BLM, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.  

Backcountry equestrians attended the trail dedication by horseback on National Trails Day. Photo Credit: NPS

Mountain bikers and backcountry equestrians were present with their horses, a reenactment honor guard of Spanish presidial soldiers carried the royal banner, and attendees could listen to music and participate in Junior Ranger activities. Several speakers provided commentary about three centuries of travel and history and how this trail profoundly influenced the culture and customs of the southwest—the catalyst that formed New Mexico’s multicultural society that endures and flourishes in the modern era. The trail traverses the original route traveled by Juan de Oñate’s 1598 Spanish expedition to establish “Nuevo México.”

On August 18, 1598, the expedition arrived at the Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh, on the west banks of the Rio Grande. Ohkay Owingeh is just north of Diablo Canyon. As governor of this new territory, Oñate proclaimed the village as San Juan de los Caballeros (St. John of the Knights), the capital of New Mexico and the northern terminus of El Camino Real. Later he relocated across the river to Yungé pueblo, which he called San Gabriel de los Españoles (St. Gabriel of the Spaniards). From these roots grew La Villa Real de Santa Fe (the Royal City of Santa Fe). The city emerged as the hub of the overland continental trade network linking Mexico and United States markets—a network that included not only El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, but also the Santa Fe Trail and the Old Spanish Trail. All three of these national historic trails meet in Santa Fe.

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