The Santa Fe Trail Association is composed of people of all ages and walks of life who are bound together by an interest in the fascinating saga of the Trail, and an interest in preserving its many physical traces and landmarks that still exist upon the face of the American West. While many of them live in the immediate vicinity of the Trail, the SFTA is proud to claim members from all over the United States.

In 1821, the Santa Fe Trail became America's first great international commercial highway, and for nearly sixty years thereafter was one of the nation's great routes of adventure and western expansion. Mindful of this, the Santa Fe Trail Association (SFTA), a non-profit association with a 501 (c)(3) status, was created in 1986 to help protect and preserve it. The U.S. Congress likewise recognized the significance of the Trail to American history by proclaiming it a National Historic Trail in 1987.