The Camino Real north of Santa Maria is difficult to see and usually was no more elaborate than a cow or burro path. The Franciscans and Dominicans who continued the mission program in Baja California never constructed roads as the Jesuits had. However, even the smaller trail to Santa Maria can be seen in many places. The Jesuits were removed from Baja California before they had the opportunity to build the Camino Real to their final mission of Santa Maria. The Camino Real built during the Jesuit period (1697-1768) was so well engineered that most of it can be seen today on the ground or from space satellite images from Loreto to San Borja, the 16th mission. The first sections of El Camino Real went north from Loreto to the visita (satellite church and village) of San Juan Bautista Londo, and the other went west to the second California mission of San Francisco Javier. The Jesuits established California's first 17 missions and the Camino Real was a line of communication between them. The network of roads radiated out from the first mission at Loreto. Later the native Indians did more of the work. Jesuit padres engineered the road and Spanish soldiers built the first sections on the peninsula. While it did not serve the same purpose as in other parts of Spain or the New World, it was still a way to secure California for the king. In Baja California, El Camino Real was the connecting road between the Spanish missions. In the New World, El Camino Real was mostly a main corridor of trade and supply. Often as a source of commerce and revenue, such as taxes to the royal coffers. In Spain, El Camino Real was any road built by and for the king. El Camino Real translates to 'The Royal Road' or sometimes 'The King's Highway'.

El camino road