Manhattan Project National Historical Park

Los Alamos is best known as the birthplace of the Manhattan Project, but the area’s history extends far beyond World War II. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park’s self-guided “Five Eras of History” walking route traces that story from ancestral Pueblo settlements and early homesteaders to the atomic age and modern Los Alamos.

The roughly half-mile trail runs from Ashley Pond to the Oppenheimer House, connecting some of the town’s most significant historic sites.

Highlights include:

• Ancestral Pueblo Site, a Tewa Puebloan settlement dating to around 1225 CE
• Romero Cabin, built in 1913 by homesteaders Victor and Refugio Romero
• Fuller Lodge, the centerpiece of the Los Alamos Ranch School
• Ashley Pond, named after ranch school founder Ashley Pond Jr.
• The historic homes of Hans Bethe and J. Robert Oppenheimer
• Manhattan Project Visitor Center
• Los Alamos History Museum

Several additional Manhattan Project sites are located within Los Alamos National Laboratory and are only accessible during occasional public tours, including:

• Gun Site (Little Boy development)
• V-Site (Gadget assembly)
• Pajarito Site (plutonium research)

For a more information, visit the Bradbury Science Museum or download the excellent Secret City: Project Y app.