A Week in New Mexico.
gijoolee
Researching areas in anticipation for moving and buying property.
30 Jul 2006
based on 20 votes
Highlights from our first trip to New Mexico (Santa Fe area and surrounding cities). Historic places and magnificent sights to check out for cheap or free!
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Explore locations featured in this Traveler List:
Cochiti Pueblo, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Las Vegas, Penasco, Chimayo, Taos, Ranchos De Taos, Ojo Caliente
- Category: Perfect week or more
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Traveler type: Culture, Sightseeing, Active/Outdoors, Never been before, Repeat visitors
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Appeals to: Couples/romantics, Honeymooners, Singles, Families with small children, Families with teenagers, Large groups, Seniors, Students, Budget travellers , Active/adventure, Tourists
- Seasons: Summer
- Tags: historical, newmexico, missions
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1. Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
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| $5 per vehicle parking fee. Worth hiking. Bring shoes that do well in sand. Bring hat & cheap sunglasses for protection against wind, sand blowing around, and small falling debris (sunglasses may get scratched up - that's why I recommend cheap ones). If you only have time for one hike do the Canyon hike over the Cave Loop. The Canyon hike takes you through narrow crevasses, beautiful scenery, and high views with the typical tent rock formations that you won't see as much of on the Cave Loop. Bring lots of water if you're hiking on a hot day & your own TP or baby wipes for the pit toilet. This sight is sooo worth it. |
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| $2 per person entry fee, amazing "miraculous staircase." Unfortunate they do not have one actual photo of the staircase before the banisters were put in after 1887 (the postcards are digital touch ups of what it used to look like pre-banisters). Facinating story behind the staircase. |
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3. Bandelier National Monument
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| $12 vehicle entrance fee. Buy the $1 info booklet/guide - it'll explain a lot of things you'll have questions about, like, "Why are the rooms so small? Are those petroglyphs on the walls (yes)." We arrived around 6pm, perfect timing to complete the Main Loop Trail & Alcove House Trail (140 ft of ladders leading up to a ceremonial cave) which took us about 2 hours total. We beat the crowds, beat the heat, wind died down, and on the walk back to the car we saw lots of wildlife (the wildlife comes out when the sun starts to go down). Spectacular sight - great for kids too. Don't miss it! |
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| $1 per person entry fee. "The Oldest Church in the United States" that is still in use. Beautiful interior, eerie history (you can read all about it in a manual that you can buy or borrow), it's right across "The Oldest House," which in itself wasn't much to look at since it's waiting for funds for repair (couldn't go inside) but at least you can say you saw the Oldest House. And it's also right around the corner from the Santa Fe Visitor's Center. You can park here if you can't find any other place to park or across the street behind the restaurant - just make sure you eat there so it's legit! Parking can be difficult in the city! |
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| Okay, we didn't go inside this cathedral but we saw it from the outside - which is really all we wanted to do anyway. It's missing its steeples. A chruch without its steeples is a sight to see. (Free - unless you want a tour given of the inside then there is probably a cost but I don't know what it is.) You can bring a picnic lunch and eat it in the pretty little fenced-in Cathedral Park next door. Check out the interesting sculpture depicting the arrival of the Europeans to the area. |
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| This is The Original Las Vegas. The town itself is kind of run down but if you like architecture it is a must-see. According to a Las Vegas, NM tourist brochure: "This town boasts excellent examples of nearly every important architectural residential style built in the United States between 1840 and 1940 & has roughly 900 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places." The town is split into the Old Town and New Town side. The Old Town has awesome buildings, including the historic Las Vegas Hotel that we heard from a real estate agent is expanding into the building next door to it as well. It's worth it just to drive through the town to take a look if you're passing through anyway. Avoid their Pizza Hut - horrible food & horrible service. Hit up a Mexican restaurant instead. The real estate agent said it's got the best Authentic Mexican food. |
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7. Salman Ranch, Buena Vista, New Mexico
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| Free, but be nice and donate to their gardens to assist with upkeep - great stop for a picnic lunch. You could almost miss this site on the side of the road. The La Cueva National Historic District boasts the mid-10th century San Rafael Mission Church, mercantile building, a hacienda and historic acequia. There is historic roller mill on site but it is extremely run down as is the acequia (irrigation ditch). The ditch is filled with weeds and not attractive at all to look at - nor dip your feet into. The Salmon ranch mercantile sells lots of handmade & locally made goods, especially raspberry concoctions since raspberriers is what they farm at the ranch - don't expect friendly people in the shop. The San Rafel Mission Church makes for a great picture opp, but it is also very run down. People of the community have been working on fixing it up slowly. Clean bathrooms here. |
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| Very small town "in the valley." Beautiful views, nice drive, and some surprisingly good places to eat. Try the Sugar Nymphs Bistro - homemade food, extremely delicious, tons of homemade desserts to choose from. Don't be in a rush when eating here because homemade can take a little bit of time to get to the table. Super-friendly nice people here! Prices range in the $5-$8 per entree for lunch. Can't miss this psychedelic-colored building on the side of the road. |
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9. El Santuario de Chimayo
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| Free. Notice: Can be difficult to find due to lack of signage. Use your mile-counter on your car & if you've driven too far & haven't seen where to turn, turn around & look for the signs that are only on the other side of the road! Don't forget to bring a nice clean container to take your bit of sand from the sacred sand pit with you. Even if you're not religious, when you get here and see it you will want some of this sand. The grounds are beautiful with a little creek running through it. Parking is ample. There are vendors set up around the Santurario selling local food stuff and trinkets. This was by far our favorite mission. You can just feel the peace when you're here. Don't bother to stop at Rancho de Chimayo Restaurante down the street from the Santuario for a meal. It was our worst meal in New Mexico (and expensive too). Save your money for a better deal with better food. |
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| $10 entrance fee per person, $5 camera fee - worth it because the picture taking opps are awesome, a few extra bucks for tipping the car attendants, and bring lots of extra cash if you plan on buying Native American art (although I think some vendors do accept credit card) - it's spendy! The pueblo has been inhabited for over 1,000 years and has been designated a World Heritage Site and a National Historic Landmark. It is the only living Native American community designated as both. Some of the Taos Pueblo natives live here year round without electricity or running water. They get their water from the river that runs through the village - don't contaminate their river. You can sample their bread & cookies baked in their hornos (outdoor ovens) for $3-$4 each, they sell beverages. Watch out for the cute Native American kids selling their crafts - how can you resist? We almost passed up this visit to the pueblo but we were so glad we stopped by. It was definitely one of our highlights of the whole trip. |
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11. Earthship Biosphere, Taos, New Mexico
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| Free tour of Earthship Visitor Center - you can't miss it when you are driving from Taos to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. You'll see the Earthship community on the right-hand side of the highway. Make sure you plan your visit before they close. We unfortunately arrived right after they closed but we were able to walk around the vistor structure and peek in the windows. It's quite an amazing concept. Kids would probably enjoy this stop as well. The community looks like its straight out of Star Wars (the planet where they found Anakin). You can also rent an Earthship out - check out the website. |
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12. Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
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| Free. Spectacular view! Go when the sun is directly overhead to avoid any shadows on the canyon walls. Maybe also check it out at sunset too. We want to go back and raft down the gorge. |
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| Free - as long as you find parking, but we didn't have a parking problem since we left our car at our Bed & Breakfast (Dunshee's) and walked to Canyon Road since it's only a few blocks away. Some of the galleries have maps of Canyon Road that lists all the galleries. If you like art, this is the place to walk through because you'll find all kinds of art here. It includes local and out-of-state artists. You could make this an all-day experience. There are also a few restaurants on the strip but most are on the spendy side. Sol Cafe seemed to be the cheaper option with lunch entrees at $10 each - next time I would go elsewhere other than "the strip" and find another place to eat that is cheaper and better. Note: Sunday is not the best day for gallery-hopping on Canyon Road. Many of the galleries will be closed or will close early. |
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| Free - except for parking. Don't park in the parking area across the street that almost appears to be free unless you plan on staying to get your $5 worth. You can stay until 10:00 pm with the $5 payment. A casually dressed man will approach you as soon as you park to collect the money, but he won't tell you that if you just drive further back there is free parking for the restaurant Eske's Brew Pup & Eatery (lots of nice outdoor seating). Might as well each lunch there, park for free, and then walk across the street to check out the 300 year old Taos Plaza. The Plaza is much bigger than it at first appears. The information booth is a good place to start. A lot of the stores are just geared toward tourists though. Eske's nacho appetizer is big enough to feed three - a cheap meal right there. |
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15. San Francisco de Asis Church
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| Free. You could easily miss this church due to lack of signage - which seems to be an issue with sight-seeing in New Mexico. Supposedly the most photographed church in the nation and there is only one tiny little street sign indicating its location in the small village of Rancho de Taos. Note: Do not park in front of the church! You will ruin the great photo opportunity for all others who visit! Park on the sides of the street - there is plenty of parking. Unfortunately there is a "no photos" policy for the interior of the church - respect that. It is a beautiful structure. Worth visiting. |
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16. Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort
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Free to visit and take a peek. All you need to do is sign a waver in their store before entering the mineral pool area. Apparently this is the only natural hot springs in the world with a comination of five geothermal mineral waters. There are various pools set up (the Iron Pool, Soda Pool, Mud Pool, etc). The waters don't sparkle like they do on the website and they are just lukewarm, not hot. We decided to skip bathing in them this time around. It wasn't very inviting. But visiting and taking a peek was so worth it, especially seeing people slathering themselves in the mud from the mud pool and then baking in the sun for the mud to dry. Lots of cool things to buy in their gift shop. You can even take some Ojo Caliente clay and mud packets with you for your own facial later in the privacy of your own home. |
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17. Santa Fe Farmers Market
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| Free, unless you purchase something. Located in the Historic Railyard. Either it's a very tiny farmers' market or most of the booths closed up & left since we got there just half an hour before it was to end. Vendors sell homemade soaps, salves, jams/jelly's, cheeses, dried flower arrangements, plants, knit caps & scarves, etc. |
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18. Santa Fe Public Library
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| Free except for parking which is cheap if you park in the library parking lot and use their meter but you need quarters (library doesn't provide change). Not necessarily a sight/destination in itself but a good place to go to check your email or use their computers. You can make reservations up to 1 hour and don't need to have a library card, just call and leave your name. Don't ask the library staff any questions - they are not helpful or friendly. A good place to get out of the sun and take in the A/C. |
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19. Pecos National Historic Park
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| $3 per person. So worth it. Easy gravel & dirt paths to walk on with a lot of historic ruins to check out and get up close to. You are even allowed to go into a kiva (an underground ceremonial structure) - for that this place is worth the visit. Buy the $1 guide book for the info but unfortunately the numbers don't match up with the walking tour for some reason. Bring water on your walk. They have a very nice museum on site. |
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Compliment gijoolee
