Interesting Things To Do Around Santa Fe
An Overview of Santa Fe
Once serving as the administrative, military and missionary headquarters of the sparsely populated colonial Spanish province, Santa Fe was the oldest established capital in the United States. The region is known for its historic architecture, Spanish cultural influences, rich Native American culture and rugged nearby landscapes. Also known as the “Land of Enchantment,” Santa Fe is an excellent region for art, Southwestern-styled food and high-altitude trekking with many other interesting things to do around Santa Fe.
Interesting Things To Do Around Santa Fe
The Plaza
The Santa Fe Plaza serves as a National Historic Landmark built in the traditional Spanish-American colonial style. The gathering place includes a park, bandstand and access to many of Santa Fe’s central shops, including retail stores, restaurants and the Palace of the Governors.
Keshi the Zuni Connection
This small shop is named for the word “keshi” (kay-SHE) which is the traditional greeting of the Zuni Pueblo people. The shop is filled with unique Zuni artworks, crafts, cultural food and pieces of jewlery, making it a compelling shopping experience.
Santa Fe Botanical Garden
This is a nineteen acre garden designed for wetland and mountain plants, intermixed with New Mexico’s highland flora. The garden is a beautiful area to walk around.
Meow Wolf
Meow Wolf is an arts production company dedicated to creating totally immersive, multimedia experiences. Inside, visitors can walk through cast buildings full of interactive art displays, unusual scenery and strange, creative sculptures.
Ethyl The Whale
Ethyl is an 82-foot-long sculpture depicting a blue whale, laying outside the Santa Fe Community College. The massive sculpture is entirely made of hand-recycled plastic to raise further awareness regarding the negative impacts of pollutions and plastics in our world.
Santa Fe’s Canyon Road Art District
Most often known as Canyon Road, this is Santa Fe’s most famous art district. It’s served as a hub for creative artists and has over 80 galleries in the space. There are many artworks that are visable outside, integrated in the community. In particular, Kay Contemporary Art, Canyon Road Contemporary Art, the Turner Carroll Gallery, the Winterowd Fine Art, Luca Decor Art Gallery and the Nedra Matteucci Galleries all have outdoor sculptures which can be seen even during off-hours. Visiting the interiors of the creative galleries is one of the most interesting things to do in Santa Fe.
Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks
The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is home to a expansive geological park known for it’s distinct cone-shaped rock formations. The tentlike stone structures were made by volcanic eruptions from 6 to 7 million years ago. The volcanic event left pumice, ash, and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Atop these deposits, hard boulders settled, which eventually created a “cap” that allowed for the conical shape to form.
Beck & Bulow
This butcher-shop specializes in exotic, pasture-raised meats, including buffalo meat, beef, elk, heritage pork, wild boar and wild caught seafood.
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
This museum contains rotating exhibits centered around the sculptures, sketches and paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe.
Museum of International Folk Art
This large, 80,000-square-foot musuem is an homage to global folk art, with pieces and artifacts from over 100 countries around the world.
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
This museum is dedicated to the preservation of Native American arts.
El Dorado Hotel
This is an well-appointed hotel with an impressive brown-adobe-styled exterior found in the city center of Santa Fe.
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
This is a museum of Native American art and culture with sculptures, clay figures, jewlery and traditional ceramics.
Cross of the Martyrs
Located within a hilltop park, this white Christiaan cross stands atop a platform with sweeping views overlooking Santa Fe. The path leading up to the cross is lined with historical plaques referencing Santa Fe’s story.
Brontosaurus Family
Easily spotted while driving towards the city on Interstate 25, these life-sized dinosaur statues stand with arced necks in a roadside field.
La Cieneguilla Petroglyphs
Found along crumbling rocks, this site contains hundreds of Native American petroglyphs, made prior to European arrival in the Americas and some more recent additions from the Spanish colonial area.
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