Armijo Route, 1829-1830
Between 1829 and 1830, an alternative branch of the Old Spanish Trail known as the Armijo Route was opened by a party of 31 New Mexico traders led by Antonio Armijo. The group departed Abiquiu, New Mexico in November 1829 with a pack train of horses and mules carrying woven goods intended for sale in California.
Traveling northwest, they crossed the Four Corners region and reached the Colorado River at a crossing associated with the Domínguez–Escalante expedition of 1776. From there, the route continued across northeastern Arizona to the Virgin River in what is now Utah. The party followed the Virgin River downstream toward the Colorado River, then turned southwesterly across the Mojave Desert, reaching Santa Barbara about three months after leaving New Mexico.
On the return journey, Armijo’s party drove horses and mules purchased in California back to New Mexico. Because the route was now familiar, the return trip took only about 40 days. The expedition effectively proved that regular, commercial trade between New Mexico and California could be done by a workable overland corridor.