Santa Fe Companion Trail (Cimarron National Grassland)

Cimarron National Grassland, USDA Forest Service (Morton County, near Elkhart)

The Cimarron National Grassland, in the far southwest corner of Kansas, is the largest area of public land in the state, according to Wikipedia, at about 108,000 acres. Through it runs a 23-mile stretch of the Cimarron Route of the Santa Fe Trail, and beside the historic route runs the Santa Fe Companion Trail, a 19-mile path that the Forest Service opens to hiking, backpacking, and camping.

It’s a very different kind of backpacking trip: prairie, wagon ruts, historic landmarks, and no water on the trail.

The hike

The Forest Service describes the Companion Trail as 19 miles between two trailheads, Murphy and Conestoga, paralleling the original Santa Fe National Historic Trail. It’s mostly flat, with “gradual inclines across dry drainages and near Point of Rocks.” Wikipedia describes it as a mowed strip. Limestone posts mark the historic trail, and interpretive signs explain its history.

Murphy Trailhead is 7 miles north of Elkhart on Highway 27, then 5 to 6 miles west on Forest Road 600, according to the Forest Service, with a vault toilet and a hand-pump well; the Murphy page says potable water is available. Conestoga Trailhead is reached from Highway 56 and County Road 16, crossing the Cimarron River, then Forest Roads 600 and 615. Both have horse-mounting facilities, and camping isn’t allowed inside the fenced trailhead area at Murphy. The Forest Service trail page says drinking water is available at both trailheads, but the Conestoga Trailhead page, updated more recently, lists a drinking fountain and also says potable water isn’t available there.

The landmarks are historical. The Kansas Historical Society’s National Register nomination says traders and soldiers used the Cimarron Route from 1822 to 1868. Point of Rocks, a light-colored formation that Mexican traders called “Mesa Blanco,” “could be seen for several miles,” and Wikipedia puts its top at 3,540 feet, overlooking the Cimarron River valley. Middle Spring, nearby, was “the next reliable water source west of the Lower Cimarron Spring” after a waterless stretch of about 60 miles, according to the nomination. Wikipedia says it flows year-round, with beaver ponds nearby. Point of Rocks and Middle Spring are now a historic district, listed in 2013, with visible trail ruts and a 1914 Daughters of the American Revolution marker.

Kansas Tourism notes that “you can still see ruts” along the Santa Fe Trail here and that hikers climb Point of Rocks for the view. The grassland also has a separate 23-mile Santa Fe National Historic Trail from the same trailheads, the 10.5-mile Turkey Trail, and the Cimarron Recreation Area, where the Forest Service says a 12-site campground sits among tall cottonwoods.

For Kansas trips with more trees and creeks, see the Elk River Hiking Trail and the Perry Lake Trail.

Tips

Carry all your water. The Forest Service says there’s no potable water on the trail. Confirm which trailhead has working water before you go.
Call about camping areas. A Forest Service order bans dispersed camping and fires in mapped parts of the grassland.
Expect company. Horses and mountain bikes share the trail; motor vehicles are banned.
Shuttle or out-and-back. The trail is point to point between Murphy and Conestoga.
Treat Middle Spring water if you use it, and don’t rely on it.

Camping

The Forest Service lists camping and backpacking as allowed uses of the Companion Trail. Grassland Order 02-12-00-24-06, in effect from April 5, 2024 through Dec. 1, 2026 unless rescinded, limits stays to 14 days within the same 20-mile radius in any 30 days, bans camping within 100 feet of any lake, stream, pond, or river except at developed or designated sites, and bans camping and fires (including stove fires) outside developed sites in specific mapped areas. Get the maps from the Cimarron National Grassland office in Elkhart, 620-697-4621. The Cimarron Campground, in the Cimarron Recreation Area, has 12 developed sites.

Inside Intel: We didn’t find camper accounts of overnight trips on the Companion Trail. Middle Spring was itself a campsite for Santa Fe Trail travelers, according to the National Register nomination, but camping today must be at least 100 feet from water and outside any mapped no-camping area.

Trail facts

Distance: 19 miles one way
Route type: Point-to-point, or out-and-back
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Campsites: Dispersed, with restrictions; developed sites at Cimarron Campground
Water: None on the trail; hand-pump well with potable water at Murphy Trailhead; Forest Service pages conflict on Conestoga, so don’t count on it
Permits: None found for individual campers
Shared use: Horses and mountain bikes; no motor vehicles
Trailheads: Murphy and Conestoga
Contact: Cimarron National Grassland office, 620-697-4621
Last verified: October 17, 2026

The Lowdown

A night on the open prairie near Point of Rocks:

Out on the Cimarron grassland, your tent is your shelter from whatever the prairie weather brings. See the tents testers like.

See the picks →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.