You have to go during summer. You simply have to go when it's warmer not colder to a place like Santa Fe to truly embrace the outdoors.

Kinda like going to Utah and Sedona landmarks - if it's too cold, not that much fun

Santa Fe is awesome. I say this as someone who has been all over Europe, regularly to Manhattan for business, from Chicago originally and all over pretty much everywhere.

What's awesome about it you ask? It's a place you go if you love the outdoors and art + food. I don't know where you all are going but Santa Fe has some damn rich people there so the shopping (women's clothing) is insane and the food there is 100000% better than the food here for the same amount of money. Look, I love French, Italian and NYC fashion but I could do a weekend in Santa Fe - it's the best kept secret. The artists are def living in Santa Fe.

You can go rafting, hiking, see Bandelier Nat'l Monument, horseback ride at Georgia OKeefe, hike one of the most amazing places I've ever seen (incl of GC/Zion/et. al) Plaza Blanca -because nobody is there! You can see some glorious art and indulge in amazing deliciousness gourmet breakfasts, lunch and dinners.

For the record, I also loved QC, Palm Springs CA, Page AZ and St. Augustine FL, Carmel by the Sea as well. So if you love these places, I guarantee you will love Santa Fe. It's a very very interesting place. Also, if I recall, every weekend they have a downtown fest I think over summer months.

For a 7 day summer holiday, my family was pretty damn happy!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Visited Santa Fe area for about 8 days and not impressed. Except a small historic district, there is not much to do in Santa Fe. Food is decent but literally not much activities to do. Bummed!

8 days is a long time to spend even for many large cities let alone a very small one like Santa Fe (which has only 90k residents). We spent 5 full days in Santa Fe in October and felt that was more than enough time to explore -- even with a day trip to Taos as one of the five days.

PP I’ve been to Santa Fe many times to visit family and I completely agree. Downtown is 2 days max and Taos is another day. There are other day trips and you could spend a day just going to art galleries or doing outdoorsy things. 8 days especially at this time of year is way too long.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Visited Santa Fe area for about 8 days and not impressed. Except a small historic district, there is not much to do in Santa Fe. Food is decent but literally not much activities to do. Bummed!

8 days is a long time to spend even for many large cities let alone a very small one like Santa Fe (which has only 90k residents). We spent 5 full days in Santa Fe in October and felt that was more than enough time to explore -- even with a day trip to Taos as one of the five days.

Ya, Santa Fe is not a place I would take the family for a vacation unless you are super outdoorsy and there are several people in the group.

Op here. Visited Santa Fe area for about 8 days and not impressed. Except a small historic district, there is not much to do in Santa Fe. Food is decent but literally not much activities to do. Bummed!

Anonymous wrote:Lots of good suggestions here already.

In addition to those, and if you have access to a car, go to Bandelier National Monument in the Los Alamos area. And, if you will be arriving in NM on or after November 21 2024, go for a hike at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. It's about midway between ABQ and Santa Fe. It's on tribal/BLM land and is reopening to the public on November 21 after being closed since 2020. Check the website for more details about what you need to do to secure a pass to get in.

When I lived in NM I used to mountain bike on the Windsor Trail. It’s beautiful and just a few minutes away from downtown SF. If you enjoy hiking I’d recommend this.

Lots of good suggestions here already.

In addition to those, and if you have access to a car, go to Bandelier National Monument in the Los Alamos area. And, if you will be arriving in NM on or after November 21 2024, go for a hike at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. It's about midway between ABQ and Santa Fe. It's on tribal/BLM land and is reopening to the public on November 21 after being closed since 2020. Check the website for more details about what you need to do to secure a pass to get in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Snow or not, OP, try to enjoy your time if you can't change it.

What about ballon flight? They are very big there.

Balloon flights happen in Albuquerque, not Santa Fe.

You can launch a balloon anywhere there's open land dummy.

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if it's still open, or open this time of year, but years ago we went to El Rancho de las Golondrinas. (Sp??) A living museum of the settlers' time period.

It's closed right now.

Breaking Tour tour in Albuquerque

Not sure if it's still open, or open this time of year, but years ago we went to El Rancho de las Golondrinas. (Sp??) A living museum of the settlers' time period.