Things to do in Santa Fe
Climbing the ladder at the gorgeous Tsankawi Ruins hike
Any visit to Santa Fe will begin with the town plaza. There, you will find many shops and restaurants, as well as The Palace of the Governors and other historical museums. (While you are at the plaza, make sure to find the secret office at 109 East Palace where workers developing the atom bomb checked in to start their tenure at Los Alamos. Click here for a fascinating description of how workers were greeted at the office and sent on their way to their secret mission.) Next, check out the shops, galleries, and restaurants on Canyon Road. (Our go to restaurant is El Farol on Canyon Road. It has great food and a great atmosphere. We love eating outdoors on their rear patio.) On Saturday, make sure to visit the fabulous farmers’ market at the refurbished Santa Fe Railyard. For other ideas of what to do, click here and here. For a guide to the best restaurants in Santa Fe, click here.
To make even more of your visit to this beautiful place make sure to:
Hike the Tsankawi Ruins at Bandelier National Monument. This was one of the most unique, and memorable, hikes we took on a cross-country hiking trip. That says a lot. Don’t miss it! The hike takes you up to see the cave dwellings of the ancient San Ildefonso Pueblo people. Soon into the hike, you will climb a sturdy (but steep) wooden ladder up to the lower mesa level. You will then walk the same paths that the pueblo people took to walk down to the fields they cultivated on the plains below and to carry crops and water to their homes on top. The views are spectacular. Note: This hike has its own small parking area before the main entrance to Bandelier. There are numbered markers along the hike that correspond to an informational map and brochure that is supposed to be at the entrance to the hike. None were there when we visited, and we took a picture of an old brochure other hikers had with them. If you need a guide to what the numbered markers mean, click here.
Tour Georgia O’Keefe’s home and studio in Abiquiu in Northern New Mexico. This is a one-hour drive from Santa Fe but worth it. NOTE: Tickets usually sell out WAY in advance, so plan ahead for this one.
Visit the Los Alamos Historical Museum. Located on the grounds of a former elite boys’ boarding school, this museum tells you the fascinating story of the people who developed the atom bomb. Learn about the secrecy in which they lived and how they developed their own ways of coping with their isolated, top-secret life.