Santa Fe Trail

Historical marker location:

I-25, Watrous vicinity, New Mexico

( southbound rest area just north of Watrous)

The difficulty of bringing caravans over rocky and mountainous Raton Pass kept most wagon traffic on the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail until the 1840's. Afterwards, the Mountain Branch, which here approaches Raton Pass, became more popular with traders, immigrants, goldseekers, and government supply trains.