El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail was recognized as the primary route between the colonial Spanish capital of Mexico City and the Spanish provincial capitals at San Juan de Los Caballeros (1598-1600), San Gabriel (1600-1609), and Santa Fe, New Mexico (1610-1821). Known as the Royal Road of the Interior, the national historic trail extends 404 miles from El Paso, Texas, to San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico.
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro is recognized throughout the United States and Los Estados Unidos de Mexico as a timeless route of trade and cultural exchange among Spaniards and other Europeans, American Indians, Mexicans, and Americans, which helped shaped individual lives and communities and affected development in the Southwest.
The El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro was added to the National Trails System in October 2000. The Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service are charged with joint planning and administration of the trail.