THE LORETTO CHAPEL in Santa Fe is home to the miraculous staircase, a wooden spiral staircase with no visable means of support and an interesting legend about its creation.
EXCERCISE: The best workout gym in Santa Fe is practically next door to the hotel - Santa Fe Spa. It’s not a spa - it’s a good gym.
HIKING: For people who are in good shape and can handle > 700’ altitude there are many good hikes - Chamisa Trail and Bear Wallow trails and Aspen Vista are some that are along the road to the ski basin. There are countless choices.
Yoga: There’s a studio on every street corner. Bikram’s hot yoga and what’s called Yin yoga are two I like. Yogasource has two studios with lots of variety. They all have websites that yogis can peruse and choose from.
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH : The Tuneup Cafe and The Pantry have great New Mexican and standard food. I wouldn’t recommend any more than 6-8 people at a time unless it’s a late breakfast or lunch. Santa Fe doesn’t have much in the way of “big box” restaurants.
DAY TRIPS: -The towns of Cerrillos and Madrid are about 45” south of SF and are on a pretty road called the Turquoise Trail. Madrid is a little touristy and Cerrillos has limited things to do, but it’s a good way to spend a morning or afternoon.
-Chimayo is a very old little Spanish town about an hour north of Santa Fe. It has a primitive, historic Catholic church that is very interesting. The Catholic church is very strong in NM.
is a pretty large restaurant there, Rancho de Chimayo which is pretty much a guaranteed good meal.
-I previously mentioned Bandelier, Valles Caldera and Los Alamos.
-Taos is 1 1/2 hours north of SF, get there either along the Rio Grande or by the “High Road.” It has an Indian pueblo that offers tours and has many other unique attractions such as the earth ships.
And last but not least Ski Santa Fe opens the Ski Lifts for tourists this time of year for fall foliage. If they do this while we are there “must see”. Will be dependent upon Weather. Could be a few days after we depart. Same with Balloon Fest in Albuquerque.