Trail Brochures

Front side of the El Camino Real de los Tejas NHT brochure

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Royal Road to the Land of the Tejas

Vast open skies. Swollen streams and great rivers. Lush rolling hills and deep forests. Dark swamps and hot deserts. This varied and expansive landscape was home to American Indians for hundreds of years. The land offered no apparent riches, but Spain was intent on protecting its territory from France. Spaniards claimed this land and named it Tejas for the Caddo word meaning friend. Missionaries and soldiers traveled timeworn routes, built missions and presidios (military posts), and opened a camino real (royal road), a vital artery across the heart of the land.

El Camino Real de los Tejas brought change—exploration, trade, migration, settlement, war, independence, and statehood. It fostered cultural interactions and created a distinctive mosaic of language and lifeways.

• View the front side of the brochure and learn about the history of the trail. (1 MB)

 

Back side of the El Camino Real de los Tejas NHT brochure

Discover the Trail

Travel El Camino Real de los Tejas and take an adventure into the past. Discover stories of trailblazers, explorers, missionaries, and settlers, and how they shaped this land. Trace the history of Texas and northwestern Louisiana along trail segments, river crossings, historic sites, and communities. Hours vary from site to site along the trail. Contact individual sites for more information. Much of the trail is on private land and not open to the public. Please respect all landowners.

• View the back side of the brochure and a map of the trail. (6.5 MB)