Santa Fe/Taos activities

amamba

Hi! My family is planning a family reunion type event in NM in August. We are flying to Albuquerque and then going to Santa Fe for four nights and then to Taos for three nights.

We already have our lodging booked, but we are looking for some fun activities. Any suggestions?

amamba

I should add that it is all adults and no children. It will be my parents, my sister and her husband, me and DH, and my brother. My brother is the youngest, he is 20, my parents are both over 60 but active and fit.

flame

New Mexico has lots to offer - whether you are shoppers, culture vultures, like to wander around new cities, outdoor enthusiasts, etc. When in August will you be here? August is high season in Santa Fe & Taos with lots of events going on.

First, to get between ABQ (Albuquerque) and SF (Santa Fe) you can take 2 routes. The first is the quickest - just take I-25 from the ABQ Sunport up to Santa Fe. It'll take 45-75 minutes depending on time of day. But, we're putting in a new commuter rail line and you're going to hit construction season. Plus, you just see lots of high desert scrub land on the ride, which is not to exciting.

For a more fun trip, take the Turquoise Trail (NM 14). You'll take I-25N to I-40E and get off at Tijeras. You drive up the east side of the Sandias, through the San Pedro Mountains, the Ortiz Mountains and Cerrillos Hills. You can stop in Madrid and Cerrillos - old mining towns turned hippie/art colonies. For crazy NM local color, stop at the Mine Shaft Tavern in Madrid or San Marcos Cafe in Cerrillos.


NOTE: SF is at 7000 ft and Taos is at 8000 ft. Some folks are pretty affected by altitude. We can have 40 degree temperature changes between daytime high and nighttime low. And August is our monsoon season ? so flash floods happen pretty darn quickly. Stay hydrated. Realize alcohol affects you quicker at altitude. Wear layers. Always let your hotel know if you are going on a hike (you would be amazed how many tourists we pull off the mountains each year.)


SANTA FE
Santa Fe is a great walking city ? so you can walk around town looking at all the old adobe buildings and southwestern architecture. SF is the second largest art market in the US and promotes its art scene. You could spend weeks navigating all the galleries and boutiques in town. Most are found on Canyon Road or on the Plaza. The Santa Fe Railyard (in the Guadalupe District) is the contemporary art mecca that is being built right now ? it should be done by August. Sanbusco Center, Design Santa Fe & the Guadalupe District are all off the Railyard and are a great walking and shopping areas. The afternoon Hot Shot Ride on the SF Southern Railway is a definite must do. For a more local feel, drop by the funcky galleries on Baca Street.

SF has some great museums. The Museum of NM contains four units - the Palace of the Governors and the Museums of Art, Indian Arts & Anthropology, and International Folk Art. The O?Keefe Museum downtown off the Plaza SHOULD NOT be missed

SF has a great hiking and biking. Hyde State Park is just up Bishop?s Lodge Rd and has great hiking in the Sangre de Christos. The Dave Ball Trails, Diablo Canyon, Atalaya and Santa Fe Ski Basin Trails are all great. The SF Nature Conservatory Preserve is awesome. You can hike or bike most of these trails. For biking, we also have the Santa Fe Rail Trail, which is great cross-country mountain biking. If you are a rock climber, Diablo Canyon is perfect. And Ski Santa Fe runs their lift in the summer for you to get access to the upper trails ? it?s a fun activity.

SF has tons of dining options ? Caf? Pasqual, Bumblebees, The Compound, Harry?s Roadhouse, Bobcat Bites, Tortilla Flats, Chocolate Maven, Zia Caf?, The Shed, Guadalupe Caf?, Rooftop Pizzeria, Pranzo, etc. are just a few. If you tell me what you want for food, I can tailor some recommendations.

If you?re spa people, SF has quadrupled its spas in the last few years. Sunrise Springs is my favorite.


TAOS
Now, for Taos. Taos is smaller, so there isn't as much to do. The town is like 2 stop lights! But it is extremely beautiful. The Plaza area is very walkable, with lots of cute shops and galleries. Up NM 68 is El Prado, which is a traditional Northern New Mexican hamlet with a nice selection of eclectic shops. Cultural ?stuff? includes the Harwood Art Museum, Kit Carson Museum and Millicanet Rogers Museum. And a visit to Taos Pueblo is a MUST. Most of what we do in Taos is outdoor activities. The famous Rio Grange Box and Gorge are excellent for white water rafting. We go hiking up at Wheeler Peak or in Wild River Recreation Area. The Taos Ski Area is also great ? you can take the lift up to the top of the trail. They usually have concerts and wine/dine events in the summer that are great. Another fun activity is to go out to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. It?s considered an engineering feat. If you cross the bridge, there?s a small BLM park on the west. And a few miles down the road to the west are the Earthships. They have a visitor center that is a very unique experience.
DAY TRIPS
There are some day trips you can take from either city.

Bandelier National Monument - Anasazi ruins, good hiking

Abiqui/Ghost Ranch - made famous by Georgia O'Keefe

Enchanted Circle/Moreno Valley - scenic byway through alpine villages

flame

Now, links for all the stuff I recommended...

(I left off food - tell me what you want to spend and I'll give you some recs.)

Turquoise Trail
http://www.vivanewmexico.com/central.turq_trail.html
http://www.turquoisetrail.org/

The Mine Shaft
http://www.themineshafttavern.com

San Marcos Cafe
http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/whereweeat/stern_sanmarcos.shtml

Canyon Road
http://www.canyonroadarts.com/

Santa Fe Plaza
http://www.thesantafesite.com/articles-database/Santa-Fe-Plaza.html

Santa Fe Railyard
http://www.sfrailyardcc.org/

Santa Fe Southern Railway
http://www.sfsr.com/

Hyde State Park
http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/PRD/Hyde.htm

List of Trails in SF
http://santafe.org/Visiting_Santa_Fe/Things_to_Do/Hiking/

Santa Fe Ski Basin
http://www.skisantafe.com/

Santa Fe Canyon Preserve 
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/newmexico/preserves/art9769.html

Diablo Canyon
http://dowclimbing.com/DiabloCanyon.html

Museum of New Mexico
http://www.museumofnewmexico.org/

O'Keefe Museum
http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/

Sunrise Springs
http://www.sunrisesprings.com/

Taos Pueblo
http://www.taospueblo.com/

Millicent Rogers Museum
http://www.millicentrogers.org/

Hardwood Museum
http://harwoodmuseum.org/index_f.php

Kit Carson Museum
http://www.kitcarsonhome.com/kc/

White Water Rafting (we use this outfitter)
http://www.santaferafting.com/

Wild Rivers Wilderness Area
http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/taos/wild_rivers_rec_area.html

Taos Gorge Bridge
http://www.sangres.com/statenm/

Earthship Visitor Center
http://www.earthship.org/contact/

Bandelier

http://www.nps.gov/band/

Abiqui (Echo Ampitheater, the Cumbres RR, Ghost Ranch)
http://www.abiquiuinn.com/tours.htm
http://www.ghostranch.org/

Enchanted Circle
http://www.enchantedcircle.org/
http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2082/stories/56862

amamba

Thank you so much for your help! This is a slow board, huh?

flame

Glad I could help. If you have any other questions, feel free to page me here.

Yeah, we're pretty slow. We're a huge state with a low population density.  Our state population is less than most of the metro areas that have their own boards!