The Mojave Road, through Mojave National Preserve, is considered a branch of the Old Spanish National Historic Trail. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Read more to learn about the history of this significant travel corridor.

Sometime before 1844, perhaps as early as 1830, a cut off developed on the Old Spanish Trail that cut the distance traveled along the upper Mojave River, by cutting across what is now Victor Valley, from the Cajon Pass to a crossing just below the Lower Narrows of the river.

Dec 1, 2023 · The Mojave Road, through Mojave National Preserve, is considered a branch of the Old Spanish National Historic Trail. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Mojave Desert has a vibrant history.

The Old Spanish National Historic Trail extends 2,700 miles across New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California to link Santa Fe and Los Angeles. Antonio Mariano Armijo (1804 - 1850), a Spanish explorer and merchant, led an expedition of 60 men and a pack string of 100 mules and established the first trade route from Abiquiu, New ...

Feb 26, 2011 · Entering the Great Basin in Utah via Salina Canyon, the trail turned southwest following the Sevier River, Santa Clara River and Virgin River before ascending the Mormon Plateau and hitting the Muddy River in present-day Nevada.

Nov 11, 2021 · For several decades after 1829, Los Angeles and Santa Fe were linked by a 700-mile trade route known as the Old Spanish Trail. Mule trains crossed the Amargosa region, between Las Vegas and the Mojave River, via a series of springs a day’s travel apart.

Animals originally blazed the Old Spanish Trail, then Native Americans and Spanish traders. It has multiple routes—Northern Route, Armijo Route, North Branch, and the Mojave Road. The Northern Route passes hundreds of miles through the center of Utah, from the extreme southeastern corner of the state through Moab and Green River and above the ...

Route of the Old Spanish Trail. Armijo’s route joined the Mojave River at its mouth near what is now Soda Lake and followed the River to the foot of the mountains at Summit Valley, down Cajon Pass and into Alta/Nueva (New) California. The second southern route extend-ed from Las Vegas to Tecopa to Barstow to Victor Valley and down Cajon Pass.

They came together again at the Mojave River, which brought travelers to the Cajon Pass portal of southern California. The group of main trails and alternates together form the Old Spanish Trail.

Sep 19, 2018 · The Old Spanish Trail is known to have been the longest, crookedest, most arduous pack mule route in the history of America. It was approximately 2,700 miles of high mountains, deserts, deep canyons and changing climate. It ran through what is now New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California.