Trapper's Trail

Trapper’s Trail was also used by John C. Fremont (1843-1844) and General Stephen W. Kearney (1845).

[1] In 1846 it was used by a group of Mormon immigrants who established a branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints near the southern end of the trail.

[1][5] The trail follows Crow Creek to the Latham, Colorado area, where it traversed along the South Platte River.

[2] Traveling along the river, four trading posts were built in the late 1830s and are located and are part of the South Platte Trail.

It follows along the East Plum, Monument and Fountain Creeks and roughly ran along what is now I-25.

[6] California Ranch was a stage station and stockade at the junction of Highways 83 and 86 near Franktown.

The trail continued southward to Huerfano Butte north of Walsenburg, then southwest to La Veta Pass following the route of U.S. Route 160 to Fort Garland then south to Taos through the San Luis Valley along the approximate route of Colorado State Highway 159 and New Mexico Highway 522.