New Mexico Walking and Hiking Tour

Arrive to Santa Fe Airport before 12 Noon. Private ground transportation to our accommodations (20 min.) where we’ll drop off our luggage and then head to the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains for a hike that will allow us to get acclimated to the area’s elevation range (7,000-9,000 ft). As our route winds through pinon and juniper forests, we also get some great views of the city of Sana Fe and the surrounding mountains. Afterwards, we’ll explore downtown Santa Fe and its numerous shops, galleries, and museums. Did you know Santa Fe has the highest concentration of art galleries in the country? Almost 100 are located on the tree-lined Canyon Road on a half-mile stretch. This evening we’ll have our welcome dinner and be introduced to New Mexican cuisine. Dale Ball Trail: 3.2 miles / 400 ft. elevation gain. Overnight at Guadalupe Inn or similar. (D)

After breakfast we’ll take private ground transportation to Bandelier National Monument (1 hour), a beautiful canyon and mesa area that features ancient Ancestral Pueblo ruins carved into the sheer walls of Frijoles Canyon. After some insight at the visitors center, we’ll take the Pueblo Loop Trail and discover an entire metropolis of Ancestral Pueblo dwellings (some built on the canyon floor with blocks of soft volcanic tuff, others made in the canyon wall voids and further carved out), as well as other impressive remnants of this ancient civilization, including The Big Kiva, the famous Tyuonyi, Talus House, and Long House. For those feeling adventurous, continue on to the Alcove House, perched 140 feet above the canyon floor and accessible only by a series of four ladders. After lunch let’s take the Upper Frijoles Falls Trail by venturing into the canyon to see the 90-foot waterfall on Frijoles Creek, who’s waters eventually lead to the confluence of the nearby Rio Grande. And Later in the evening, if you feel you need to be back on another trail, Santa Fe’s Margarita Trail runs through town. Get your Margarita Trail paper passport stamped by a bartender or download the app to show them and earn stamps for fabulous prizes and get $1 off every margarita. (Please drink responsibly.) Overnight at Guadalupe Inn or similar. Pueblo Loop Trail 1.2 miles. Alcove House Trail extension 1-mile. Upper Frijoles Falls Trail 3 miles/300 ft. elevation gain (B)

After breakfast we check-out of our accommodations in Santa Fe and shuttle (75 min.) to the stunning landscape of Ghost Ranch in “O’Keeffe Country”. It was the home and studio of Georgia O'Keeffe, as well as the subject of many of her paintings. The Spanish believed this area was haunted. After some education at the Visitor Center, we’ll hike the Chimney Rock trail which takes us to incredible views of the Piedra Lumbre basin. After our picnic lunch on the grounds of the ranch, we’ll drive down the road (20 min.) to the Chama River Valley to see Plaza Blanca (The White Place), named by O’Keeffe for its 60-foot-high otherworldly white limestone rock formation. After rambling around for a while in this contemplative setting, we drive north to the high desert town of Taos (90 min.) and check-in to our accommodations for the evening. Farewell dinner tonight at an inviting place in town. Chimney Rock Trail 2.5 mi. / 600 ft. elevation gain. Overnight at El Pueblo Lodge or similar. (B)

After breakfast we shuttle to one of America’s highest and most famous bridges - The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, locally known as the “High Bridge.” The Rio Grande Gorge is an unexpected 1,300-foot-wide crack in the flat, empty tablelands. We’ll hike the West Rim Trail out and back and marvel at this amazing steel deck arch bridge. After a hearty lunch in town, we check-out of our accommodations and take private ground transportation along the historic high road to Chimayo (90 min.), a tiny village founded after the Spanish re-conquest of New Mexico in 1680. The town is home to El Santuario, a 19th–century adobe church considered one of the most revered places in the Southwest. The Pueblo Indians believed that they shared this land with supernatural beings. The dirt is thought to have miraculous healing powers and pilgrims that visit here today will rub the dirt on their arms, legs, and faces, and some even sprinkle it into their food and drink. After our visit we’ll take our private ground transportation to Santa Fe airport (90 min.) for our flights home after 6p. West Rim Trail 5 mi. (B)