13 brilliant day trips from Santa Fe: pueblos, hot springs and slot canyons

Exploring The City Different? Once you’ve seen all there is to see in Santa Fe, it’s time to venture further. From Taos to Madrid, hit up one of these brilliant Santa Fe day trips.

There might be plenty of things to do in Santa Fe, but trust me, there’s tonnes to do around it, too.

From the magical moonscapes of White Sands National Park to the bustling urban paradise of Albuquerque, it’ll amaze you how many incredible places you might’ve missed if I wasn’t here to tell you all about them.

Luckily, I am. I spent a few days in Santa Fe in February, at the end of a road trip through New Mexico that also took in White Sands, Albuquerque and a night in Taos. And I’ve done the legwork for you and written this guide to the best day trips from Santa Fe, each with the drive time and the bus or train option where there’s a genuinely useful one. What are you waiting for?

The best day trips from Santa Fe

Taos

If you’re looking for somewhere close by, head out on a Taos day trip. This super cute, artsy town is where Indigenous culture meets contemporary New Mexico in a laid-back fashion. When I was there, a local Native American gathering was taking place on Taos Plaza.

You can visit grand attractions like Taos Pueblo (just check ahead that it’s open and don’t make the same mistake as me: it was closed when I visited!) and the Harwood Museum of Art, or simply grab an excellent cup of Joe at The Coffee Apothecary.

Taos Pueblo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been lived in for more than 1,000 years. It closes to visitors for about ten weeks from late winter into early spring, and can also close at short notice for ceremonies, so check its website or call before you set off. Adult admission is $25. About 10 miles north-west of town, the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge carries the highway high above the river, with dizzying views down into the gorge.

Fancy a thrill? Taos Ski Valley also has some of the best skiing for advanced skiers if you’re in the area between late November and early April. You’ll find around 300 inches of bone-dry powder in an average season, ready for skiers and snowboarders along the untamed bowls and glades.

Taos also makes a brilliant overnight stop if you’d rather not rush it. I stayed at the Inn on La Loma Plaza, a short walk from the Plaza, where my room had its own private steam room and breakfast is à la carte.

Drive: About 70 miles via NM-68 along the Rio Grande, around 1 hour 30 minutes.

Public transport: The free North Central Regional Transit District Blue Bus runs from Santa Fe to Taos on weekdays, changing in Española (about 2 hours 30 minutes), and the free Taos Express runs at weekends.

Albuquerque

As far as Santa Fe day trips go, you’ll find plenty of things to do in Albuquerque.

I seriously loved ABQ when I visited; it’s a relaxed and friendly city, with a killer food scene. Head to Sawmill Market for a foodie paradise: get a margarita or two from Flora Restaurant and thank me later.

But there are plenty of adventures to be had, from hot air ballooning (an absolute must: my flight was a 10 out of 10) to the Sandia Peak Tramway, which I thought would be underwhelming, honestly. But it was so cool. The tramway just completely proved me wrong and blew me away. It climbs to about 10,300 feet in around 15 minutes, and in February the top was freezing and snowy, so pack far more layers than the desert below suggests.

The Petroglyph National Monument also holds wonders for you to explore, with an estimated 24,000 petroglyphs to behold (incredible, right?). My favourite walk in Albuquerque was the Rinconada Canyon Trail, a free and easy 2.2-mile round trip where you can spot around 300 of them. Bring binoculars and play spot the petroglyph before you read the signs.

Drive: About 64 miles via I-25, around 1 hour.

Public transport: The New Mexico Rail Runner Express runs from the Santa Fe Depot to downtown Albuquerque in about 1 hour 30 minutes, with the fullest timetable from Monday to Saturday.

The Northern Pueblos

There are many pueblos in New Mexico, and making the effort to take a day trip from Santa Fe to visit some of them is a must. The best known are the Eight Northern Pueblos, Puebloan communities that have lived in this part of the Rio Grande Valley for centuries and live here to this day.

The Eight include Taos, Santa Clara, Ohkay Owingeh, Nambé, Tesuque, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso and Picuris.

History buffs and culture lovers alike will adore visiting these intriguing communities, but be aware they’re not always open: they tend to close to visitors on ceremonial days, so plan in advance to avoid disappointment. Each pueblo sets its own rules, and many restrict or charge for photography, so check before you go. Feast days, when many pueblos welcome visitors to watch traditional dances, are a special time to visit if you’re respectful of the etiquette.

Drive: Tesuque is about 15 minutes north of the city; Taos Pueblo, the furthest, is around 1 hour 40 minutes. You’ll need a car for most of them.

Bandelier National Monument

Bandelier National Monument protects more than 33,000 acres of canyon and mesa country near Los Alamos. Here your inner culture geek will revel in the cliff dwellings of Frijoles Canyon, built by Ancestral Puebloan people against the canyon walls, with small rooms (cavates) carved into the soft volcanic tuff behind them.

Some date all the way back to 1150 AD, while more recent ones come from around 1600 AD. There are a couple of trails to hike to see the best the monument has to offer: the 1.4-mile Pueblo Loop Trail, which takes in the Big Kiva, Tyuonyi and the Long House, and the Alcove House Trail, where ladders climb about 140 feet up the cliff to a reconstructed kiva, are the most popular choices.

Drive: About 46 miles via Los Alamos and White Rock, around 1 hour. There’s no practical public transport.

Madrid

No, not the one in Spain, unless your definition of a “day trip” is a whole lot different from mine (wink). Madrid was all but a ghost town after its coal mines closed in the 1950s, but artists moved in from the 1970s and it has become a quaint and picturesque little place to visit.

The Ortiz Mountains form the backdrop for brightly painted houses, and artisanal stalls line the streets. Stop by some of the many galleries for an injection of culture, or pull up a stool at the Mine Shaft Tavern, a survivor of the town’s coal mining days, with live music from Thursday to Sunday.

Drive: About 26 miles along the Turquoise Trail (NM-14), around 40 minutes.

Public transport: The free Blue Bus route 275 runs from Santa Fe Place Mall to Madrid on weekdays (four buses each way, about 40 minutes).

White Sands National Park

Okay, so this one is a bit of a trek to undertake as a day trip, but it’s totally worth it. White Sands National Park is one of the Santa Fe, New Mexico, day trips you can’t miss.

The pure white gypsum sand dunes of White Sands National Park, spotted with pale desert brush, are a wonder to behold: they look a little bit like a desert with a light dusting of snow. When I visited in February, it rained for part of the day and the park was wonderfully quiet.

One of the best things to do in White Sands is to go sledding down those dunes and end up with rare white sand in all the wrong places. Or you can take a hike along one of the trails instead and keep your crevices sand-free.

It’s far better as an overnight trip than a there-and-back. I stayed at Home2 Suites by Hilton Alamogordo, around 20 minutes from the park, and my guide to where to stay near White Sands has more options. Entry is $25 per vehicle, and missile tests on the neighbouring range can close the park road and US-70 for up to three hours, so check the park’s closure page the day before.

Drive: About 280 miles via Albuquerque, so allow at least 4 hours 30 minutes each way. There’s no practical public transport.

Top tip: Wear a buff and sunglasses, and make sure you take plenty of water with you.

Ojo Caliente Springs

In need of a pamper? Ojo Caliente Springs is one of the attractions near Santa Fe that promises rest, relaxation and rejuvenation. The retreat is only an hour from Santa Fe and calls to travellers and wellness seekers alike, and it was one of the places I made time for on my own trip.

You can hike around the beautiful surroundings or simply luxuriate in the mineral-rich springs, or perhaps enjoy a tailored spa treatment or two. All of the above sounds good to me.

There are nine public soaking pools fed by springs with four different minerals: iron, lithia, soda and arsenic. Day soaking passes don’t need to be booked (and can’t be): they cost $45 from Monday to Thursday and $65 at weekends and on holidays, and the springs are open from 10am to 10pm. Under 13s aren’t allowed in the pools.

Drive: About 50 miles via US-84/285, around 1 hour. There’s no practical public transport.

The Very Large Array

Ready for a sight like no other? Take a ride to the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (original title, right?). It’s a massive arrangement of 27 radio antennas on the Plains of San Agustin that together make up one of the most famous radio telescopes on Earth.

It helps detect the intricacies of our cosmos, and the SETI Institute even uses its data in the search for signs of life beyond Earth. You can stop by the visitor centre and take the self-guided walking tour to the base of one of the enormous dishes, each 82 feet in diameter.

Drive: About 190 miles via Albuquerque, Socorro and US-60, around 3 hours each way. There’s no practical public transport.

Valles Caldera National Preserve

Fancy a hike or three, anyone? Valles Caldera National Preserve is a gorgeous escape to nature in the large embrace of a volcanic caldera.

There are around 89,000 acres of wilderness to explore, from vast mountain meadows to pine forest and steaming geothermal ground, waiting to be traversed.

Trout streams wind through the grasslands with the Jemez Mountains all around, so the scenery is fab, and elk often graze the valleys late in the day. The Cerro La Jara Loop is one of the best walks, even though it’s short: an almost flat 1.5-mile loop from the welcome station, past a prairie dog colony.

But, don’t worry, there are several longer ones to take advantage of, too. Entry is $25 per vehicle, valid for seven days.

Drive: About 60 miles via Los Alamos, around 1 hour 20 minutes. There’s no practical public transport.

Jemez Springs

A quaint little village west of Santa Fe nestled in the scenic Jemez Mountains, Jemez Springs’ biggest draw are the hot mineral springs. They’re even said to have healing powers, and who am I to say that’s not true?

The village itself is also delightful, with a small-town charm surrounded by 1.6 million acres of the Santa Fe National Forest (yes, you can go hiking!). The historic bath house in the village offers mineral soaks, and there’s also the Jemez Historic Site, where you can explore the ruins of the Giusewa pueblo and the 17th-century San José de los Jemez mission church (open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm).

Drive: About 80 miles via Los Alamos and NM-4 through the Valles Caldera, around 1 hour 45 minutes, so it pairs well with the preserve.

Abiquiu Ghost Ranch

An hour or so outside of Santa Fe is the education and retreat centre, Ghost Ranch, near the village of Abiquiu. It’s not haunted (that I know of), but it’s a gorgeous place to visit with plenty of activities, from horseback riding to hiking and guided tours.

A day pass covers the grounds, the hiking trails and the ranch’s two museums, one of anthropology and one of palaeontology, and you can join an O’Keeffe landscape tour of the red hills and cliffs that Georgia O’Keeffe painted. Listen to stories about dinosaurs, cattle rustlers as well as the ghost of one particularly giant rattlesnake.

In Abiquiu itself, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum runs tours of her home and studio from March to November (booking essential).

Drive: About 65 miles via US-84, around 1 hour 15 minutes. There’s no practical public transport.

Chimayo

If it’s an easy day out from Santa Fe you seek, another charming village full of history is Chimayo.

Sitting snugly amongst the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, it’s home to a National Historic Landmark, the El Santuario de Chimayó historic church, built in 1816.

It’s a Catholic pilgrimage site with “el pocito” (Holy Dirt) that draws almost 300,000 visitors a year for its reputed healing powers. Weaving is also a common theme here, with shops that feature the weavings of the Trujillo and Ortega families.

Drive: About 30 miles, around 40 minutes. It’s an easy start to the High Road to Taos if you want to keep going.

Tent Rocks National Monument

On the Pajarito Plateau sits Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in the Jemez Mountains foothills. Its unique conical formations made from ash, pumice and tuff were formed by volcanic eruptions six to seven million years ago and are a glorious sight to behold.

Hike the 1.2-mile Cave Loop Trail for an easy walk, or tackle the Canyon Trail for a challenge: it runs 1.5 miles each way through a narrow slot canyon, then climbs a steep 630 feet to the mesa top. Your reward will be the incredible vistas of the Rio Grande Valley, Sangre de Cristo and Sandia Mountains. Read more in my guide to the best hikes in New Mexico.

Drive: About 40 miles via I-25 (exit 264) and NM-16 and NM-22 to the Cochiti Visitor Center, where you check in, around 50 minutes. Follow the signed route rather than your GPS, which can send you through closed tribal land. There’s no public transport.

Practical tips for easy day trips from Santa Fe

• Driving to your chosen destination is often much faster than taking public transport. If you plan on seeing some attractions that are slightly further afield, then renting a car is your best option to get the most out of your day trips.
• If you plan on going on a trekking excursion, make sure you bring a good pair of hiking shoes along: the Tropicfeel Geysers are my top pick, FYI.
• Plan your travels ahead of time so you get the most out of your day trip. Spontaneity can be great if the location is close by, but Tent Rocks needs a reservation, and the further-flung places need extra planning, especially if you’re taking the longer public transport option.
• Santa Fe sits at about 7,000 feet, and winters are cold and snowy, so check road conditions before mountain drives and pack layers. Bring snacks and water for your journey, too: no one wants to end up hungry midway through a two-hour bus ride.
• Some parks, including Bandelier, take cards only, so don’t rely on cash. If you’re visiting several national parks and monuments, the America the Beautiful pass ($80 for US residents, $250 for everyone else) soon pays for itself.
• For a base, I stayed at the Eldorado Hotel & Spa, a short walk from the Plaza, with spacious rooms.

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Read next

• The best things to do in Santa Fe
• The best hikes in Santa Fe
• The best day trips from Albuquerque
• New Mexico road trip: the ultimate itinerary
• What to do in New Mexico: the ultimate guide

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