City of Raton

Raton, located less than 10 miles from the Colorado border, is the northeast gateway to New Mexico. Home to 6,041 residents in 2020, our community has become a destination for visitors seeking a charming town rich in history, arts, culture, and outdoor recreation experiences. With the passing of the I-27 Numbering Act in July of 2023, the Ports-to-Plains Corridor from Laredo, Texas, to Raton, New Mexico, will be added to the interstate highway system. A key advocate for the Ports-to-Plains Corridor stated that designating the highway as an interstate would open up a pipeline of trade. Resting at 6,680 feet at the base of Raton Pass, the City offers travelers the first opportunities for high-country outdoor recreation on the newly designated I-27 route. Tourists from across the United States are discovering Raton’s abundant outdoor recreation opportunities, including Sugarite Canyon State Park and Capulin Volcano National Monument. Other recreational destinations such as Lake Maloya, Vermejo Park Ranch, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Philmont Scout Ranch, Cimarron Canyon State Park, and the NRA Whittington Center are within minutes of Raton, including Colorado’s Fishers Peak State Park and Lake Dorothey. The City continues efforts to improve in-town outdoor recreational opportunities, with continued improvement of Climax Canyon National Recreation Trail, a municipal golf course, and two 18-hole disc golf courses. Community members are optimizing enjoyment of the beauty of Raton’s outdoors, creating shared opportunities for outdoor leisure, such as allowing residents to walk their dogs on the cart paths of the Raton Municipal Golf Course. Along with their sister city, Trinidad, Colorado, community members jointly host the Purgatory Four relay event. With the purchase of Barlett Mesa, which lies between I-25 and Sugarite Canyon State Park, Raton’s leaders and proactive residents have the goal to develop even more outdoor recreational activities as they extend the City trail system to connect with the 15 miles of trails in Sugarite Canyon State Park. Future plans will involve extending the trails across the border to Colorado’s Fisher’s Peak State Park. Community members envision a system of trails integrating all of the outdoor recreational sites surrounding Raton. The community leaders of Raton realize that revitalizing the community and capitalizing upon the scenic beauty by offering diverse outdoor recreation opportunities go hand in hand. Concerned citizens and city leaders drafted the 2015 Raton Downtown Master Plan to address ongoing challenges facing downtown businesses by defining a community vision for the district, identifying priority strategies, and fostering catalyst projects to spearhead a downtown revitalization effort. The 2021 Raton Economic Development Strategic Plan, the key policy document guiding decision-making to ensure progress toward the community’s vision, named Outdoor Recreation as one of the areas of focus for further strategic development. Given its unique regional position at a major regional crossroads, surrounded by the beauty of the plains, mesas, and mountains, City leaders recognize that Raton is the base for some of the highest outdoor recreation potential of any New Mexico destination.