The northern section of the Camino Real, the portion in New Mexico and Texas, was designated a National Historical Trail by the U. S. Congress in 2000 and an interpretive and visitor center (the Camino Real Heritage Center) has opened south of Socorro, New Mexico. This guidebook provides the traveler with useful commentary on the entire Camino as it winds its way from New Mexico through Mexico, ending in Mexico City.

Jackson includes narrative accounts collected from a variety of primary sources to add an eyewitness perspective to topics as diverse as sixteenth-century haciendas, colonial presidios, and important rest stops "(parajes)" on the Camino in New Mexico. There are many historical vignettes plus sixty maps drawn by the author to assist in finding Camino sites. Other information provides the traveler details such as highway numbers, mileage, accommodations, and areas of interest off the main Camino route.