We recently spent several days in northern New Mexico, staying in Santa Fe and making day trips to nearby Los Alamos, Bandelier National Monument, Pecos National Monument, Valles Caldera National Monument, and White Rock.

We spent one full day in downtown Santa Fe, and it turned out that was enough for us. We hit several highlights but given we’re not interested in shopping or art galleries, the downtown area didn’t hold tremendous appeal.

That said, we certainly found enough to interest us for a day. If you’re passing through Santa Fe or planning your own day in this city, here are the top activities I’d recommend.

Exploring the Railyard District

We arrived in Santa Fe on a Friday night so we prioritized checking out the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market in the Railyard District, which happens every Saturday morning. This district was a short walk from our hotel, and we enjoyed spending about an hour wandering through the market and checking out the local goods on display.

I didn’t realize this district was still home to actual train travel and enjoyed stopping by the Santa Fe Depot and learning about the daily trips you can take on the Rail Runner. Traveling on one of these colorfully designed trains might be a fun experience for another time.

Hiking La Tierra

On Sunday morning we headed about 15 minutes north of downtown to hike at La Tierra. We started at La Cuchara trailhead and pieced together several trails into a nice loop that ended up being 3 miles and only 227 feet of gain.

We had the place almost to ourselves and enjoyed awesome views of the surrounding mountains. There were tons of other trails in this area open to hiking, biking, and horse-back riding that I’d be interested in exploring on a future visit.

Visiting Churches

We visited two churches in downtown Santa Fe, starting with Loretto Chapel. I was surprised to discover it had an entry fee, but I understand the need to help upkeep these facilities. This one in particular likely needs ongoing funding and a means to control the amount of foot traffic interested in not only seeing the chapel but its mysterious staircase.

Three mysteries surround the spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel: the identity of its builder, the type of wood used, and the physics of its construction … The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. It is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway’s construction.

https://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase

When we arrived, Brian remembered having heard about this staircase on Unsolved Mysteries when he was a child! We ended up finding the episode on YouTube and watching it later in our hotel.

We wandered through the main plaza downtown where we found a couple buskers but mostly other tourists. Happily a block away was Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, the second church we visited during our stay.

We enjoyed wandering around inside, but I was most taken with a beautiful statue just outside featuring Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be recognized as a saint!

Tasting Wine

Wine tasting wasn’t on my radar for our time in Santa Fe, but we chatted with a couple from Albuquerque while we were in the Railyard District who recommended we make time for Gruet Winery. Specializing in sparkling wine, Gruet was very busy and we barely made it in as walk-in patrons. If you’d like to go, I’d definitely recommend making a reservation!

The tasting room had a wonderful atmosphere, and the guy helping us was very knowledgeable. There is an outdoor patio that looked fun but because of the wind they didn’t want anyone with stemmed glasses outside. Next time!

Eating Great Food

We had quite the mixed bag of food during our time in Santa Fe, eating downtown both on our actual day in the city as well as for breakfast or dinner on the days we were heading out on day trips.

I put out a call for help to some of our friends who are great foodies after we had a couple mediocre meals, and I’m happy to share a couple great spots that were standouts. For breakfast or brunch, I’d recommend Sage Bakehouse, which had excellent lattes and tartines, and Counter Culture, which also had great espresso drinks as well as delicious breakfast burritos and massive cinnamon rolls.

Brian’s favorite meal was at Restoration Pizza Santa Fe, which is actually part of Bosque Brewing and exclusively features their beer. We ordered a pepperoni and mushroom pizza with green chilis (when in New Mexico!), and it was really great.

The standout dinner spot was Paloma, where we barely made it in (make a reservation!). The service was wonderful, and our guac and homemade chips, drinks, and dinners were all incredible. Highly recommend!

Enjoying Local Beer and Cocktails

There were a number of breweries in Santa Fe, and we enjoyed the two we visited: Santa Fe Brewing Company (Brakeroom location, which has a cool history) and Second Street Brewing (which has a great taproom in the Railyard District). Both had quite a variety of beers on tap – something for everyone.

If you’re into cocktails, we really enjoyed the ambiance at Secreto Lounge, which is housed inside the Hotel St. Francis just across from Gruet! Known for its ‘garden-to-glass’ ingredients, we opted for the Butternut Squash Old Fashioned (tasty but light on squash) and the Smoked Sage margarita (very smoky, not much sage). A nice couple next to us took one of the few non-selfie pictures of us on our trip!

Although we weren’t super into Santa Fe the city itself, we did enjoy some highlights downtown and truly enjoyed our time exploring the surrounding area. For that reason, it was a perfect home base for our time in the area and a great introduction to our time in New Mexico.