Santa Fe, NM
Elevation: 7,000 - 12,000 feet. Population: 72,000. Normal high temperatures for
June, July and August are (°F) 83, 85 and 82 while normal lows
are 48, 53 and 51 respectively.
Santa Fe is a world-renowned travel destination unparalleled in richness of history,
heritage, arts and culture. You'll be nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains,
the foothills of the Rockies, immersed in natural beauty, with an average of 300
days of sunshine and blue sky. Come and prepare for your perfect day in Santa Fe.
Outside Magazine recently chose Santa Fe as one of the 30 Best Towns in America.
And both the U.S./Canada and World editions of the bestselling 1,000 Places to See
Before You Die books include Santa Fe, praising the city's art and artisan markets,
cuisine, opera, spas and the Georgia O'Keeffe Trail (which includes the O'Keeffe Museum,
Ghost Ranch and tours of her house in Abiquiu).
Attractions
Santa Fe offers a lot to all ages: hiking, shopping, great restaurants, Native American culture,
museums, music, galleries.
In the summer there are a ton of tourists, it is crowded, but people don’t seem to mind.
Every evening on the Plaza (a square block park-like venue with a stage) there is music,
Native American vendors occupy a block-long sidewalk where they sit and display their wares
during the daytime.
The hiking is not like the Rockies, we have smaller mountain ranges (not sure the height).
The weather can be warm, usually in the upper 80’s in July; often a passing rain storm.
Santa Fe Opera performs in the summer if anyone is an opera buff; Santa Fe Desert Chorale;
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.
Many parks for kids, Children’s Museum, probably a water park in Albuquerque, will check that out.
One hour to Taos, NM if anyone would like an excursion.
Many pueblos to visit, Bandelier National Monument.
Taos, a beautiful 70 mile drive northeast of Santa Fe, is wedged between the 13,000 ft Sangre
deCristo Mountains and the 700 ft deep Rio Grande Gorge.
The highest mountains surrounding Santa Fe are closer to 12,000 ft.
Six Indian Pueblos are within 30 miles of Santa Fe, and some might want to explore these.
There are 1,000 miles of nearby national forest trails to explore. Four wilderness areas are nearby.
Ten Thousand Waves is a Japanese style spa with soaking pools located just outside of Santa Fe.
I think the bottom line is this: hiking is different from Estes or Banff,
lots of good and pretty trails, just not as high mts; about the same prices in lodging;
probably more expensive and less convenient re. flights
(Abq is not a very big airport and doesn’t have a lot of direct flights);
otherwise a fun place to come with a lot of variety and beautiful SW landscape and Native culture.
Transportation
Five families (11 individuals) can drive to Santa Fe in less than one day.
No additional families are within 1,000 miles of Santa Fe.
Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) is served by American, Continental, Delta, ExpressJet, Frontier, Northwest,
Southwest, United and US Airways. ABQ is a 67 mile drive from Santa Fe.
Resources