“¡Vayan Subiendo!” “Everyone mount up!” A familiar call from Spanish Lt. Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza. In 1775-76, Anza led more than 240 men, women, and children on an overland journey across the frontier of New Spain to settle Alta California. Follow 1200 miles in the footsteps of this intrepid, multiethnic expedition, and explore the rich cultural history of communities from Nogales, Arizona, to San Francisco.

The 1,200-mile Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail commemorates, protects, marks, and interprets the route traveled by Anza and the colonists during the years 1775 and 1776 from Sonora, Mexico (New Spain), to settle Alta California and establish a mission and presidio at today’s San Francisco, California. The Anza Trail was designated a National Historic Trail by Congress in 1990 through an amendment to the National Trails System Act.

Nogales to Tubac Presidio--The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail starts here. Anza began recruiting settlers and soldiers in the Spring of 1775. They assembled in San Miguel de Horcasitas (now in Mexico) and departed on September 29, 1775, heading north. The final assembly was at Tubac Presidio, where they left Spanish civilization behind and traveled 890 miles to Monterey, California.