Agnostik
National Historic Trail · NM, TX

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail

Travel along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail to experience and learn from a complicated legacy of 300 years of conflict, cooperation, and cultural exchange between a variety of empires—European and non-European alike.

nps.gov ↗

Photos

tan-colored pueblo Indian ruins with blue sky and three people
The Tiwa pueblo of Kuaua lies in ruin at Coronado Historic Site. The site includes a rebuilt kiva that displays reproductions of original murals adorning its walls. Be sure to go to the visitor center where some of the original murals are displayed.
adobe buildings including two beehive-looking ovens with people in a courtyard
El Rancho de las Golondrinas was a historic paraje (stopping place) along El Camino Real. “The ranch of the swallows” dates from the early 1700s, and is now being used as a living history museum.
shrubby desert scene with people walking under a cloud-filled sky
Walk in the footsteps of settlers from the 1600s who had to walk along this dreaded yet unavoidable section of El Camino Real: Jornada del Muerto or Dead Man’s Journey.
fort ruins in the sunlight with cottonwood trees on the left
Fort Selden was built near the town of Las Cruces in 1865 and housed troops for 25 years. The visitor center offers exhibits on frontier military life during the fort’s heyday and the grounds are self-guided.
large white chapel under blue sky
Spanish troops built a presidio (fort) and chapel at this site during the 1780s to protect settlements in the lower Río Grande Valley downstream from El Paso, Texas.

Activities

  • Arts and Culture
  • Theater
  • Auto and ATV
  • Scenic Driving
  • Hiking
  • Junior Ranger Program
  • Museum Exhibits