Bent's Old Fort
Phone: Visitor Information 719-383-5010
Visitor Information (TDD) 719-383-5032
William and Charles Bent, along with Ceran St. Vrain, built the original fort on this site in 1833 to trade with plains Indians and trappers. The adobe fort quickly became the center of the Bent, St.Vrain Company's expanding trade empire that included Fort St.Vrain to the north and Fort Adobe to the south, along with company stores in Mexico at Taos and Santa Fe. The primary trade was with the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians for buffalo robes.
For much of its 16-year history, the fort was the only major permanent white settlement on the Santa Fe Trail between Missouri and the Mexican settlements. The fort provided explorers, adventurers, and the U.S. Army a place to get needed supplies, wagon repairs, livestock, good food, water and company, rest and protection in this vast "Great American Desert." During the war with Mexico in 1846, the fort became a staging area for Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny's "Army of the West". Disasters and disease caused the fort's abandonment in 1849. Archeological excavations and original sketches, paintings and diaries were used in the fort's reconstruction in 1976.
Directions
Plane - There are commercial airlines to Pueblo (75 miles) and Colorado Springs (110 miles).
Car - The park is accessed via U.S. Highway 50 and Highway 194. From La Junta, Colorado on U.S. Highway 50, take Highway 109 north 1 mile to Highway 194, then east on Highway 194 six miles to the fort. From Las Animas, Colorado, on U.S. Highway 50, take Highway 194 west 13 miles.
Bus - Greyhound bus serves all surrounding communities.
Public Transportation - Amtrak trains have a stop in La Junta.
More info at http://www.nps.gov/beol
Online Colorado Parks
Olle's Colorado Fishing Guide & Atlas (Book) by Jack Olofson
Gives info on not only every fly-fishable lake, stream and river in Colorado, but detailed maps on how to get to them, including hiking trails. Covers National Forests and Recreational Areas, RMNP, State Parks, Trust lands and Wildlife Areas, plus metro Denver and the Front Range.
Merchant: Online Sports
Rocky Mountain National Park: The Climber's Guide - Estes Park V
This comprehensive guide has more than 900 routes on the lower elevation cliffs that lie along the eastern edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, including some of the best traditional and sport cragging in Colorado. Text and topo maps describe every route.
Merchant: Online Sports
Colorado Ice (Book) by Jack Roberts
Waterfalls, smears, mixed and selected alpine climbs in Rocky Mountain National Park, Front Range, Vail, Carbondale, Telluride, Durango and more, in Colorado. 312 pages.
Merchant: Online Sports
Snowshoe Routes: Colorado's Front Range (Book) by Alan Apt
Offers detailed route descriptions for Red Feather Lakes, Poudre Canyon, Steamboat Springs, Rocky Mountain National Park, Indian Peaks, Mount Evans and Guanella Pass, and the Colorado Springs region. Routes vary in level of difficulty and include several weekend camping trips.
Merchant: Online Sports