Smugglers' Notch State Park

At a glance

Visual character

“A dramatic mountain pass through house-sized boulders between Mount Mansfield and Sterling Mountain — Vermont's most visually dramatic geography. The notch road weaves through piled boulders with cliff overhangs, creating claustrophobic and epic visuals simultaneously.”

About

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site near La Junta, Colorado is the only reconstruction of a major 1840s Southwest fur trading post—an authentic adobe fortress on the original Santa Fe Trail that served as the commercial and diplomatic hub of the Southern Plains. The massive adobe walls, central courtyard, trade room, and period furnishings recreate the atmosphere of the 1840s Southwest frontier where Bent's brothers mediated between Anglo traders and Cheyenne and Arapaho nations. Interior and exterior filming available with NPS authorization. The sweeping southeastern Colorado plains, authentic adobe architecture, and Rocky Mountain horizon create a genuinely transportive 1840s Southwest atmosphere requiring minimal set augmentation. Perfect for mountain man-era Western productions, Santa Fe Trail narratives, and any film requiring authentic 1840s Southwestern frontier atmosphere. A premier Colorado film location. Filming permits available through Bent's Old Fort NHS Superintendent. NPS Special Use Permit required.