ABOUT LA JUNTA
Explore Our Past & Present
La Junta's Exciting Past
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.
Originally established as a trading post for the Native Americans, Bent’s Fort became the Southwest’s most important outpost and a stopping place along the Santa Fe Trail for travelers, trappers and explorers.
Prior to 1846 and the war with Mexico, the fort was the last outpost of the United States along the Santa Fe Trail before crossing the Arkansas River into Mexico.
In late 1875, as the railroad pushed further west along the Old Santa Fe Trail, a small settlement was established along the south bank of the Arkansas River, once the international boundary between Mexico and the United States.
What would someday become La Junta began as a construction camp for the Santa Fe Railroad. The town, if it could be called as such, was a motley collection of tents and hastily built clap board structures. As with many of these "end of the line" railroad encampments of that time, the camp was quite lively, with no lack of "watering holes" and entertainment emporiums. The town was nearly forsaken after the railroad moved on in 1877; however, the Santa Fe Railroad recognized the value of the location and built a depot and roundhouse there and by 1879 the Santa Fe RR shops had been established. This once rowdy town became the headquarters for the Santa Fe Railroad's Colorado Division.
On May 15, 1881, the residents of this small railroad supply town incorporated and formed "The City of La Junta."
The name "La Junta" is Spanish for junction or meeting place, and is pronounced "La Hunta". La Junta was truly the place where the rails and roads met and diverged to the mountain passes or the wide plains. Legend maintains that a herd of pronghorn antelope ran down what passed for Main Street back then, prompting the city fathers to use pronghorn antelopes on the city seal - where they can still be seen today. The legendary Bat Masterson was one of the first marshals of La Junta in 1884
By the turn of the 20th century, La Junta was a town of substance with brick and stone buildings replacing the old wooden clap board structures. It was obvious, even back then; La Junta was here to stay.
Today, La Junta may be considered a small town but it has amenities that are missing in much larger towns. La Junta is located on historic U.S. Highway 50, the "Coast to Coast Highway," in the heart of Southeast Colorado's farming and ranching country.
Some of the finest melons in the world are grown in Otero County - the Rocky Ford cantaloupes. During the summer months, the Farm Markets in the La Junta area offer fresh produce from their stands along Highway 50.
Between the La Junta Livestock Commission and Winter Livestock, La Junta is the second largest market for feeder cattle and calves in the country behind Oklahoma City. Take in a live cattle auction while you are here. It is a once in a lifetime experience to some, but a weekly way of life for a great number of ranchers in the Arkansas Valley.
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.
Explore La Junta Today
Outdoor Recreation
The Comanche National Grassland is responsible for the management of 443,764 acres of range lands and 300 different species of birds, reptiles, amphibians, & mammals. Not only that but the Comanche National Grassland encompasses a fascinating landscape that reveals the history of the region in its exposed rock layers of prehistoric sea bedsand ancient lake shores rift with dinosaur tracks.
Picketwire Canyon is located just 20 miles from La Junta, and is open for hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking. Picketwire Canyon contains one of the largest dinosaur track beds in the world, ruins of an old Mexican mission and settlement, Native American Rock Art and an early 19th century ranch, now preserved by the Comanche National Grassland.
Guided auto tours are the easiest way to experience Picket Wire Canyonlands and learn about its rich, colorful past. During the tour, knowledgeable guides will show you difficult to find dinosaur tracks, and the interesting prehistoric, historic, and natural features of the canyons. All day tours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) are offered on Saturdays in May, Junta, September and October.
Vogel Canyon is just a short drive from La Junta; beautiful Vogel Canyon is always a popular destination because it has something for everybody - from a short hike to a quiet picnic. Four hiking trails take you to the canyon bottom and mesa top. The park provides picnic grounds and hiking trails with a variety of difficulty and length.
Bent's Old Fort Historic Site
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site features a reconstructed 1840s adobe fur trading post on the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail where traders, trappers, travelers and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes came together in peaceful terms for trade. Today, living historians recreate the sights, sounds and smells of the past with guided tours, demonstrations and special events.
Visitors can hike the mile and a half Bent's Old Fort Hiking Trail that winds its way through the cottonwood trees alongside the Arkansas River. The marsh is home to several species of birds. Interpretive exhibit signs tell the story of the river ecosystem, Santa Fe Trail and Bent's Fort.
Tarantula Trek & Tarantula Festival
Visit the Comanche National Grassland during the yearly Tarantula Trek when tarantulas appear en masse in Southeast Colorado during the fall.
While this phenomenon has traditionally been called a migration, it is actually an annual mating ritual performed by male tarantulas who roam across the 443,000-plus acres on the Comanche National Grassland looking to mate.
The best time to view tarantulas is an hour before dusk during mid-September thru October and even into early November—depending on the weather. Because these spiders prefer undisturbed lands to nest, the vast and beautiful prairies on the Comanche National Grassland make ideal habitats.
The first time visitor to the Comanche National Grassland is usually surprised to find such a varied landscape from rolling short grass prairies to rugged canyons rimmed by pinion-juniper forests.
Santa Fe Trail
Between the years 1821 – 1880, the Santa Fe Trail was America’s first international highway. Celebrating 200 years in 2021, the Santa Fe Trail Bicentennial is a commemoration of a living part of the American Experience. The Trail remains crucial to American history in all its many forms: connecting people in commerce, conflict, and culture.
Community Theatre
Picketwire Center for the Performing & Visual Arts, recognized by the State of Colorado as the longest, continuously running community theatre remaining in Colorado that owns its own building, celebrating nearly 60 years of live community theatre in the Arkansas Valley. Picketwire Players performed their first play in 1968, and they have had a show or season of shows every year since that time.
