From Mules To Maps: This Is Colorado’s Oldest Road

The railroads had not yet made it to Montrose, or even Grand Junction, by the time Colorado was named a territory. Yet, by 1861, the Western Slope was already part of an ancient highway system stretching from New Mexico to California.

The Old Spanish Trail through Western Colorado was in use as early as 1829, according to the National Park Service. Keep scrolling to learn more about how you can still follow this historic route across the Western Slope.

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From Indigenous Pathways to Trade Route

Read More: Be Careful: Coyotes on Old Spanish Trail in Grand Junction

The National Park Service tells us that the Old Spanish Trail was not a single road, but a network of routes built on top of Indigenous travel corridors established by the Ute and Fremont Indians and used for centuries. By 1829, Antonio Armijo documented the first successful commercial expedition, turning these routes into a trade link that the Spanish used to trade and transport wool goods, horses, and mules from New Mexico to California.

Colorado’s North Branch and Today’s Highways

If you study the map above of the Old Spanish Trail, the National Park Service makes it easy to see how later routes, such as Highway 50 in Colorado, and America’s historic Route 66, both follow routes that trace back to the Old Spanish Trail.

The trail’s North Branch crossed Colorado’s San Luis Valley, the Uncompahgre Valley, and the Grand Valley, before heading West into Utah. Portions of the original trail can still be followed today, including a section near Fort Uncompahgre in Delta and a 12-mile section of the trail near Whitewater. Portions of the Grand Junction Riverfront Trail also follow the Colorado River all the way to Loma and into Utah.

Why This Trail Still Matters Today

Read More: Fort Uncompahgre: Western Colorado's Oldest Fort & Trading Post

The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad did not reach Grand Junction until about November of 1882, making the Old Spanish Trail decades older than rail travel in the region, according to the Colorado Encyclopedia. In 2026, the Old Spanish Trail in Colorado is still protected as a National Historic Trail, kept by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Several markers still show historic portions of the trail in use today.