The Spanish Trail

Kane Springs was a scheduled drink of water on a 1,120-mile commute. From 1829 to 1848, autumn caravans out of Santa Fe packed New Mexican woolens toward Los Angeles on the Old Spanish Trail, looping north through this canyon country to dodge the Colorado's gorges, and drove California mules and horses back in spring. The trade had a human cargo too — Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) women and children, captured and sold at both ends of the trail. US-191 south of Moab now shadows the route, and the springs still run.

What the plaque says

Kane Springs, San Juan County, was a major water stop along the historic Spanish Trail, in use from 1829 to 1848. Large trade caravans halted here and drank from the abundant spring waters. In autumn months, pack trains carried woolen textiles and raw wool over the trail from the settlements on the upper Rio Grande to the coastal towns of California. On reaching California, wool merchants exchanged their goods for horses and mules, which were driven back to New Mexico the following spring. It took trail riders over two months to complete the journey. The 1,120-mile route, from Santa Fe, New Mexico; to Los Angeles, California, followed a northward looping course that passed through the rugged southern and central landscapes of Utah. This trail avoided the deep canyons of the Colorado River and the hostile Indians of Arizona. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican war, the territory encompassing the Spanish Trail became part of the United States. Thereafter, caravan traffic followed direct east-west lines. In the post-trail period, the waters of Kane Springs refreshed weary travelers, cattle drovers, pioneer settlers, and outlaws.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Hole N the Rock — 2.6 mi
  A 5,000-square-foot home carved inside a massive sandstone boulder
• Wilson Arch — 10.0 mi
  A stunning natural arch visible right from the highway
• Moab — 13 mi
  The adventure capital of the American Southwest
• Potash Road Dinosaur Tracks — 15 mi
  Dinosaur footprints embedded in a cliff face along the Colorado River

More markers nearby

• Historic La Sal Post Office — 12 mi
• Early LDS Church — 13 mi
• Elk Mountain Mission — 13 mi
• Moab Veterans Memorial — 13 mi