Rayado (uncommonly Reyado or Ryado) was the first permanent settlement in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States and an important stop on the Santa Fe Trail.

The name Rayado derives from the Spanish term for "streaked", perhaps in reference to the lot lines marked out by Lucien Maxwell.

[3] Rayado is at 6,509 feet (1,984 m), along State Route 21 at the extreme southeast corner of Philmont Scout Ranch.

Because the plains were still subject to raids by Apache, Comanche and other Indians, he had difficulty attracting settlers, so he convinced Kit Carson to move down from Taos in 1849 to lend an air of safety to the enterprise.

The Maxwell-Abreu and Martinez houses, now on the National Register of Historic Places, were originally built as one large structure around a placita.