Cimarron, NM

The Santa Fe Trail consisted of two main branches:  the original route called the Mountain Branch, which passed through Cimarron, and the Cimarron Cutoff, named for the town near Dodge City, Kansas.  The route of the Mountain Branch follows present-day I-25 over Raton Pass (along the railroad tracks) and parallels Hwy 64 to Cimarron, crossing in front of the Visitor Center and across the Cimarron River to Old Town.  The two branches met at Fort Union, 90 miles south of Cimarron and the main fort offering protection for travelers along the Trail.Traces of the Santa Fe Trail can still be seen nearby...