2000 - El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro NHT
This route is one of North America's oldest and longest colonial roads. It serves as the route of settlers, priests, and traders coming north from Mexico City to the edge of the Spanish Empire against the Rocky Mountains. Over time it became a blending of Native American, Colonial Mexican, and American cultures. Trade and travel that took place on this trail shaped America's Southwest, encouraging economic stability and permeating cultural barriers. This route began as a chain of Native American trails that was linked together by the Spanish in 1598, connecting the capital of Mexico to northern provincial outposts and towns. After Mexican independence in 1821, it became an extension south for traders on the Santa Fe Trail. In the 1840s, American troops followed it to invade Mexico in the Mexican-American War. Administered jointly by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, the trail is supported by El Camino Real Trail Association (CARTA) that works closely with El Camino Real International Heritage Center near Socorro, New Mexico.
(See NPS www.nps.gov/elca and website for the El Camino Real International Heritage Center)