SOUTH COLLISON AVENUE cuts through the center of Cimarrón like a thread through time. A product of the Santa Fe Trail, the mid-1800s trade route from Franklin, Missouri, to Santa Fe, the town of almost 800 bustles with summer travelers on this Saturday afternoon.
Heavy July monsoon clouds frame the historic village, their rains temporarily turning Mount Baldy’s face a blazing green. With miles of ranch pasture meandering into the Cimarrón Range’s rising foothills, the Old West lies around every corner. But a fresh energy permeates the 166-year-old community as well, with new attractions and fresh faces preserving and enhancing Cimarrón’s legacy.
I meet Jared Chatterley, who runs Legends by Lantern Light Tours, in front of the 1872-built St. James Hotel. “ ‘Cimarrón’ is Spanish, meaning ‘wild’ or ‘untamed,’ ” Chatterley tells me, as we set out through town. “It really lived up to its name.”
Jared Chatterley leads Legends by Lantern Light Tours.
The Santa Fe Trail attracted adventurous types, and Cimarrón became known for wild brawls and gunfights in those turbulent formative days. Guests at the St. James included a who’s who of Western lore: Annie Oakley, Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Clay Allison, and Bat Masterson.
“Those folks were right here because they were all on the Santa Fe Trail,” Chatterley says. His 60-minute tour encompasses just a few blocks around the St. James and demonstrates how much history is packed into the town’s two square miles. A map for a similar self-guided version can be picked up in a wooden box near the plaza, which features a wooden gazebo and a tidy lawn that served as campground and watering hole for early travelers.
Nearby, we pause at the graves of land baron Lucien Maxwell’s daughter and mother-in-law. Chatterley recounts how, in 1870, Maxwell sold off his massive two-million-acre share of the Maxwell Land Grant, sparking property disputes that eventually turned into the 15-year Colfax County War. As we continue along a backroad, passing well-kept sorrel horses grazing in a meadow, he mixes in tales of cattle rustlers, gold rushes, and gamblers. “Cimarrón had all those things that are quintessential Western history,” he says. “Any one of those things would have made another town famous.”
Fill up at Cree-Mee Drive In.
Images of those spirited times keep turning over in my head as I turn in for the night in the St. James’s annex. The next morning in the lobby, I meet Chad Mantz, the hotel’s co-owner, who purchased the historic property with his daughter, Alyse, after it closed in September 2024. “The history—the bullet holes in the ceiling—this place is one of a kind,” Mantz says.
Although not much has changed at the St. James since reopening in December, that’s by design. Mantz understands how important preserving the hotel’s legacy is for a community that values its past. On a morning like this, with the St. James humming along with few vacancies, it feels like a sound strategy.
But Mantz, who has a background in restaurant management, isn’t standing pat, either. He has festivals scheduled for the courtyard, including an October food and wine pairing, and plans to develop Lambert’s Bar and Restaurant’s culinary and beverage programs.
Beyond the hotel, if you mention Cimarrón to an outsider, their most likely connection is to the Philmont Scout Ranch, which lies six miles to the south. “Wherever you go, you’ll see people who have been to Philmont as scouts,” says Kate Warrick, marketing manager for the 140,000-acre property owned by Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts of America).
Russell’s Car Museum has wonderfully preserved retro Cadillacs and hot rods.
Less well known are the treasures held in the ranch’s National Scouting Museum, which opened in 2018. Although the museum is primarily dedicated to scouting history, with displays of old uniforms, medals, knives, paintings, and camping equipment, the building holds a surprisingly comprehensive local history collection, including prospectors’ pickaxes, rifles from the Colfax County War, and a wonderfully preserved Mud Wagon stagecoach from the 1800s.
“You can learn about the history of Colfax County, Santa Fe Trail, all of the industries that really made this place,” says museum specialist Harold White.
What I’ve come to realize is just how close Cimarrón’s wild and gritty past remains to the present day. It’s like Chatterley told me on our tour: “This town hasn’t been touched with that touristy West yet. It’s still authentic.”
As I head east on NM 58, I pause to look in my rearview. I imagine how traders on the Santa Fe Trail might’ve spotted Cimarrón on the horizon after a long trek through the high desert.
WHILE YOU'RE THERE
Eat. Begin the day at Hikers Coffee Co., right by the park in the center of town. For a quick bite, stop by Cree-Mee Drive In for burgers, tacos, and ice cream.
Shop. Antique hunters can spend at least an afternoon searching through Cimarron Antiques, housed in Schwenk’s Gambling Hall, which was built 1854. Nearby, Old Town Warehouse offers western gear and furniture, while the Lodge—originally the short-lived Colfax County courthouse, then Masonic Lodge—sells consignment clothing.
See. Billed as “New Mexico’s Most Unusual Museum,” Old Aztec Mill Museum (open Memorial Day through Labor Day) is housed in a historic structure built by Lucien Maxwell in 1864 and still holds working mill parts and photos from Cimarrón’s past. Russell’s Car Museum, which opened in May next to Russell’s One Stop, has wonderfully preserved retro Cadillacs and hot rods, and a large collection of 1950s and ’60s memorabilia, like old Coca-Cola products and vintage gas pumps.
Tip. A Philmont Scout Ranch adventure pass grants access to activities like hiking, camping, fishing, horseback and pony riding, woodcrafting and ceramics, climbing, archery, and shooting. For budget travelers, Phil-mont’s tents are probably the most affordable stay around.
