Welcome to La Junta!
On the southeastern plains of Colorado, the town of La Junta - the junction in Spanish - is a welcome sight
to travelers who have crossed the vast great plains.
The most famous local attraction is Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, about nine miles from town. The fort was originally
erected in the 1830s by two brothers, Charles and William Bent, and was the only permanent structure for hundreds of miles
around. Kit Carson hunted for food for the fort, and other famous Western characters appear in its history.
During World War II La Junta had an Army Air Force Training Base outside town. The airport, located 5 miles north of La
Junta, has 77 acres of tarmac and two runways which are still in use. One runway (east-west) is 6,851 feet long and the other
is 5,800 feet.
La Junta is also the access point for the Picketwire Unit of the Comanche National Grasslands, a great place for prairie
hiking and bird-watching. It also has an awesome set of dinosaur tracks worth following.
