NM SB18 – Santa Fe Trail Natl Scenic Byway Traditional Cache

New Mexico is home to 25 magnificent scenic byways, totaling over 2,900 miles across a diverse landscape. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation recognizes these designated roads based on one or more intrinsic qualities — archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, or scenic.

This is a desert environment so please be careful of the flora and fauna that live here and the trash people leave along the road.

Crossing Raton Pass was the hardest part of traveling the Mountain Branch. Richens Wootton established a toll road through the pass in 1865, charging $1.50 for wagons, 25 cents for horses, and 5 cents a head for stock. Indians used the road for free. Interstate 25 parallels the old road. The byway follows Moulton Street southeast to Second Street in Raton, first known as Willow Springs. It became a water stop for stagecoaches and a freight stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway picks up south of Raton on U.S. 64 and runs through Cimarron. Settled around 1844, it became the headquarters of the 1.75-million-acre Maxwell Land Grant in 1857. Wagon trains entered the plaza from the east after crossing the Cimarron River. Lucien Maxwell built the Aztec Mill, which survives as the Old Mill Museum (17th Street; open summers).

http://www.newmexico.org/santa-fe-trail-sb/