Visit La Junta, Colorado

La Junta is located in the beautiful Arkansas River Valley, one of the best kept secrets in Colorado, on US Highway 50 and Amtrak's Southwest Chief Route. The name La Junta means "the junction" in Spanish. The town of La Junta is located at what once was the junction of the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail and the Trappers Trail into the mountains and gold camps of Colorado.

You will find La Junta easy to get to whether you drive your own car on US 50, take the train, or fly into La Junta Airport. Explore our several travel options below to help make the time spent here in La Junta your vacation of a lifetime!

SOUTHEAST COLORADO

La Junta is located on the heart of the Mountain Branch of the Old Santa Fe Trail. In the early 1800s, the area that would someday become La Junta was the staging ground for some of the most exciting events in American history. These were their favored buffalo hunting grounds of the Arapaho and Cheyenne. Because of this the Bent Brothers, William and Charles, established a fort along the river in 1833. Bent’s Fort became the Southwest’s most important outpost and a stopping place along the Santa Fe Trail for travelers, trappers, and explorers.

Today you can easily travel and explore the old Santa Fe trail by car. History is evident all throughout the area. Faint traces of the old wagon ruts can still be seen just outside of La Junta and along Highway 350 to Trinidad at various locations.