"Welcome to the Old Spanish Trail.  Between 1829 to 1848, this pack trail was a major transportation link between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California.  Although referred to as one trail, it had a series of shortcuts including the Fish Lake Cut-off.  Blankets and other woolen goods produced in New Mexico were traded for Spanish mules and horses.  The Trail, designated as a National Historic Trail in 2002, was the first major highway across the Southwest and is considered one of the most difficult trade routes ever established in the United States.

The Old Spanish Trail was opened primarily by Spanish missionaries linking Spanish towns in New Mexico and California.  Mules and horses, abundant in California, were in demand in New Mexico"