Day Trips & Pueblos
Northern New Mexico offers some of the most diverse, beautiful terrain and varied landscapes to be found find anywhere in the world. Santa Fe and its environs offer visitors plenty of sights and experiences. You can make a variety of day trips to explore everything from ancient ruins and historic mountain towns to rushing rivers ripe for rafting and fishing.
Georgia O’Keeffe Country
The Georgia O’Keeffe House and Studio at Ghost Ranch
O’Keeffe lived and worked at the Ghost Ranch house for a part of each year beginning in the mid-1930s, and then purchased the house in 1940. Approximately 60 miles northwest of Santa Fe, the Ghost Ranch house is surrounded by the stunning landscape that inspired her art for more than 40 years.
O’Keeffe Trail Ride
Horseback riding at Ghost Ranch is one of our guests’ most memorable adventures. Ghost Ranch offers a range of trail riding experiences for riders of all skill levels. The O’Keeffe Landscape Trail Rides are a magnificent way to tour through the land that captured Georgia’s heart; they are available during the day or at sunset during warmer months.
Please note that all trail rides are by reservation only.
The Georgia O’Keeffe House and Studio in Abiquiu
In December 1945, O’Keeffe purchased a 5,000-square-foot Spanish Colonial–era compound in Abiquiu, then in ruins, from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. With her friend Maria Chabot, O’Keeffe spent the next three years restoring the 18th-century structure. By 1949, the property was habitable and O’Keeffe moved from New York and became a full-time resident of New Mexico.
Pueblos
Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark. The multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years. We welcome you to visit our village when you travel to northern New Mexico. Taos Pueblo is the most beautiful. There are others as well, but not quite as interesting as these.
Acoma Sky City Pueblo
Acoma Sky City Pueblo highlight your visit with the Pueblo Tour, ranked as the #1 “place to honor American Indian Life” USA Today. Your guide shares Acoma’s culture and history in the type of oral presentation that our people have been passing down for many, many centuries. Spend some extra time before and after the tour enjoying the amenities at Sky City Cultural Center and Haak’u Museum.
San Ildefonso Pueblo
The Pueblo was founded when people migrated from the Mesa Verda complex in Southern Colorado by way of Bandelier (elevation about 7000 feet), just south of present-day Los Alamos, New Mexico. People thrived at Bandelier due to the rainfall and the ease of constructing living structures from the surrounding soft volcanic rock.
Los Alamos & Jemez Mountains
Bandelier National Monument
Bandelier National Monument is approximately 45 minutes outside of Santa Fe on the way to Los Alamos. This place has it all! The Mountains were formed by volcanic lava, which is quite porous. These Native Americans were a very advanced culture. They built dwellings into the mountainside as well as adobe pueblos (ancient apartments) in the valley.
Tent Rocks (Kasha-Katuwe) National Monument
Welcome to Mars! This hike is like being on another planet! It is also 45 minutes from Santa Fe, but the opposite direction of Bandelier. The same volcanic eruption formed these enormous rocks that look like 15 story high tee-pees. There is very little flora in this area, which is in sharp contrast to Bandelier’s lush forestry.
Jemez Mountain Tour
This tour features the ruins of an ancient civilization, a high-tech research center, traditional Native American Pueblos, and the collapsed crater of a long dormant volcano. Stops include the San Ildefonso and Santa Clara Pueblos, Bandelier National Monument, Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos, Valle Grande and the Jemez River Canyon.
Taos and Northern New Mexico
There are two ways to experience the drive to Taos, the High Road and the Low Road. Both begin on a similar path, but separate for different trips. The High Road is more scenic, following a climbing, curvy road, with more to stop and see along the way. The Low Road is a more direct route following the highways connecting Northern New Mexico, and partly alongside the Rio Grande River.
Turquoise Trail
The Turquoise Trail is named for the historic mines that line this route, considered to be a scenic day trip or a peaceful route linking Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Venture off the freeway and onto the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway, and you’ll get picture perfect views of the high desert vistas in the heart of central New Mexico, linking Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Pecos National Monument
Pecos National Monument preserves 12,000 years of history including the ancient pueblo of Pecos, Colonial Missions, Santa Fe Trail sites, 20th century ranch history of Forked Lightning Ranch, and the site of the Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass. For several centuries, the Upper Pecos Valley has been one of those rare places where the impact of geography on human experience is strikingly clear.
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Festivals & Events
Northern New Mexico offers some of the most diverse, beautiful terrain and varied landscapes to be found find anywhere in the world. You can make a variety of day trips to explore everything from ancient ruins and historic mountain towns to rushing rivers ripe for rafting and fishing.
Art Experiences
Every summer since 1957 opera lovers have come from all over the world to enjoy The Santa Fe Opera. A wide-ranging repertory of new, rarely performed and standard works are performed in a dramatic theater with stunning views of the surrounding landscape.
Museums
Visit Santa Fe’s museums and wake up the artist within youǃ Whether you are 7, 17 or 70 years old, get inspired by the rich blend of history, arts and cultural heritage with more than a dozen state and private museums around Santa Fe.