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Photo: NPS, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
In the Glorietta Pass west of town, this battlefield was the site of a significant battle of the American Civil War, and today is administered as part of the Pecos National Historical Park. A 2.3 mile interpretive trail leads visitors to the site, although it is located on private land behind fences. To get there, first stop by the visitor center at Pecos National Historic Park (above) and the park rangers there will provide you with directions to the trail and an access code to get through the gate. An annual commemoration takes place on the last weekend of every March and offers demonstrations by historians and a living history encampment.
The Glorieta Pass Battlefield was the site of an American Civil War battle that ended Confederate ambitions to cut off the West from the Union. The Battle of Glorieta Pass took place on March 26–28, 1862, at Glorieta Pass, on the Santa Fe Trail between the Pecos River and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The pass, and the battlefield, are now bisected by Interstate 25. Two portions of the battlefield, now publicly owned and operated by the National Park Service as part of Pecos National Historical Park, were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
A unit of the national parks system that contains the ruins of Pecos Pueblo, an ancient Native American settlement that was abandoned in the 19th century, and an impressive stone church from the Spanish mission era. A short loop trail from the visitor center passes by the ruins of Pecos Pueblo and the mission church. The visitor center offers exhibits with artifacts from the site as well as a short film about the history of the area.