Santa Fe: Trails, Landscapes, and Cultural History

Explore Santa Fe through its trails, river landscapes, and places with a layered history. If you’re planning outings, you’ll find routes with a variety of features: in addition to distance and route, the surface and specific destinations also matter.

Trails and Landscapes

Santa Fe County’s Open Space, Trails and Parks Program manages a total of 9,400 acres of open space, 18 parks, and 75 miles of trails for residents and visitors to the county to enjoy and use for recreation. The interactive trail map covers hundreds of trails throughout the county, including county trails, Santa Fe National Forest trails, and trails in the City of Santa Fe. It includes trail directions, elevation profiles, photos, and information about parking and contacts. These map details may change, so check them before setting out.

The El Camino Real Trail runs 14 miles north from the trailhead at 14 Constellation Drive to Diablo Canyon. The first 4.5 miles to County Road 62 are paved; the remaining section is unpaved. The trailhead has a paved parking lot for 20 cars, information boards, and two pedestrian bridges over the Santa Fe River. You can take the route, surface, and trailhead amenities into account together when planning your outing.

For the Santa Fe Rail Trail, the route to Lamy is described in relation to a different starting point: Santa Fe County manages the remaining 12.5 miles of the trail south to Lamy. The Rail Trail connects to the Spur Trail 1.78 miles south of the Rabbit Road Trailhead. Trains operated by the Santa Fe Southern Railway run scenic round trips along the route. Check whether they run seasonally on your travel dates.

Shorter connections can also be identified by their specific endpoints. The San Isidro River Park and Trail runs 0.7 miles along the Santa Fe River from the parking lot at San Isidro Crossing to Agua Fria Park. The section of the Santa Fe River Greenway managed by Santa Fe County is about 8 miles long: it runs from the city limits at Frenchy’s Field to the wastewater treatment plant west of NM-599. The stated starting and ending points help distinguish these two routes.

The South Pasture Loop Trail passes through pastureland and a stand of cottonwoods along the Pecos River. At Arroyo Hondo Open Space, the historic Arroyo Hondo Dam No. 2 can be seen from viewpoints. The dam was built in the early 20th century. Both places offer views of the landscape alongside tangible evidence of its use and history.

At Nambé Falls, two trails, each about a quarter mile long, lead from the Ramada Area to the waterfalls. One climbs uphill and ends at a viewpoint above the falls. The other follows and crosses the river to a beach at the lowest pool.

Historic Sites and Culture

The Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway runs between Santa Fe and Albuquerque; Cerrillos Hills State Park is located along the byway. The Trading Post at Pecos National Historical Park tells a different story of historic connections: it was built in the 1850s as a stop along the Santa Fe Trail and now serves as an information center and museum about the trail, the Civil War, and ranching in New Mexico. The park also features preserved structures from Pecos Pueblo and the Spanish Mission.

El Rancho de las Golondrinas was an important stopping place along the Royal Road from Mexico City to Santa Fe. The historic ranch complex dates to the early 18th century; today, it is a 200-acre living history museum dedicated to the heritage and culture of colonial Spanish New Mexico. El Santuario de Chimayó offers another historical and architectural perspective: the Spanish Colonial church was built in 1813 and is designated a National Historic Landmark.

The Poeh Cultural Center and Museum is dedicated to preserving the traditional arts of New Mexico’s Tewa-speaking pueblos. It showcases Pueblo art and exhibitions, and traditional Indigenous dances are also performed there. In Agua Fria Village, adobe houses and the historic San Isidro Church recall the former stop along the Camino Real. The village is part of one of North America’s oldest agricultural settlements.

The time of year can also matter when planning cultural visits: Nambé Pueblo honors San Francisco de Asís each year on October 4 with a feast day. For those interested in rock art and archaeological history, the 1.5-mile Tsankawi Trail crosses a mesa landscape, passing rock alcoves, petroglyphs, and the Ancestral Pueblo village of Tsankawi. Ladders are required on this trail. It is highly exposed to weather and should not be hiked during local thunderstorms.

Discover more destinations: Jaconita, Santa Fe, Agua Fria, Los Cerrillos, Cañada de los Alamos, Española, Rice County, Mora County.

See the broader travel overview: New Mexico.