We are thinking of going to Santa Fe in October. Turns out that’s when the balloon festival is.
It sounds kind of cool, and I have a place on hold in Santa Fe through tomorrow. I’m trying to figure out whether we should go another week, because it will be overcrowded the week of the balloon festival, or whether it will be cool to be there that week. Opinions? Anything I should know? TIA
Several of my relatives have gone and they said it was amazing. I hope to see it someday!
35 year resident of ABQ here.
Santa Fe is far enough away from ABQ, that SF shouldn’t be hugely crowded. Most of the Balloon Fiesta crowd stays in ABQ, though SF will get some day trippers. The Fiesta’s main events are at 6-10 am and 6-9 pm and the tourists will be in ABQ for those.
Weather in early-mid October is glorious! Warm days, cool nights. And the aspens will be golden. It’s a beautiful time of year. (My husband used to say if heaven had weather, it would be like New Mexico in October.)
BTW, if you do decide to stay in Santa Fe, consider coming to ABQ for one day of Fiesta–it’s a sight to behold. There’s a limited stop train that runs between ABQ and Santa Fe, The Rail Runner, of you don’t want to drive the 80 miles to ABQ.
ETA-- you might want to check room rates for a different date. Rooms go for a premium during the Fiesta.
We drove from WI to New Mexico several years ago. Stayed in Santa Fe, visited Albuquerque as a day trip. Planned on getting up uber early for the balloon rise but it was cloudy and rainy that morning. The cities are worth seeing even if the balloons don’t work out for your trip. . Do get to Los Alamos and the museum there when in New Mexico. We considered the area for retirement but prefer wet to dry (ended up in Florida).
We will be staying in SF if we go. I have a place on hold, and have used miles to reserve airfare. But airfare is refundable. I will make final decision by this time tomorrow. Everyone Who know anything about the festival says it’s fabulous.
I have booked a place and the airfare.
If anyone has good ideas about what to do around Santa Fe besides going to see the balloons, please let me know. Wehave been to Taos, but only drove through Santa Fe.
We do plan to go to Abique ghost ranch. I want to go to the Georgia Okeefe museum, and I know there are lots of cool shops and things. We like to hike, but have done no investigation about where to hike yet (other than Abique).
They have a framers market is n Saturday. My sister has a booth there. If you can go, I’ll PM u. I love the art galleries
Take me with you!. It sounds very scenic and beautiful.
We went to ALB several years ago when the program I was on had a balloon in the fiesta. It was phenomenal. Because of the connection, we were able to go up in said balloon at no cost. The girls collected some pins, we all ate like champs. Breakfast burritos at 5am are worth it, lol.
The balloon rise shouldn’t be missed. Weather when we were there was cool in the morning and comfortable in the PM.
The museums and the Pueblo should be on your list.
What to see in Santa Fe–
The Palace of the Governors. Georgia O’Keefe Museum. New Mexico Museum of Art. Museum of International Folk Art. Museum of Indian Arts & Culture.
Saint Francis Cathedral. Loretta Chapel (which has the miraculous staircase).
Shidoni Galleries & Foundry in Tesque (just north of Santa Fe). Monumental stone and bronze sculptures
Canyon Road is full of art galleries and is a very pleasant walk, but there are no street lights so don’t go after dark.
Kakawa Chocolate Shop.
Ten Thousand Waves --a spa and Japanese tea house up in the Sangre de Cristos Mountains in the Santa Fe National Forest. If you want a more authentic hot spring experience, try Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs and Resort. (D1 took her bridesmaids there for a spa day before her wedding last fall.) 10 indoor and outdoor pools, mud baths, massages–about halfway between Santa Fe and Taos. I can suggest some backwoods hot springs if you really want to get away from everyone and everything and don’t mind hiking.
There is also a movie ranch (Eames Movie Ranch) just outside of Santa Fe. It’s open to the public unless there’s a movie being filmed there. I’ve heard mixed things about the tours.
If you want funky–drive down to Madrid. (Pronounced MAD-rid) Former silver & lead mining town and one of the first towns to be fully electrified in the West. Mines are long closed, but now it’s a funky artist’s commune.
Bandelier National Monument. About a 45 minute drive from Santa Fe. You may want to extend your trip to Bandelier with a stop in Los Alamos.The Bradbury Museum of Science in Los Alamos traces the history of Los Alamos and the US nuclear program.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. (Slot canyons!) You’ll pass Cochiti Lake (big reservoir) and Cochiti Pueblo on the way.
There are 19 Pueblos in New Mexico. You can check to see if any of the Pueblos are holding Feast Day Dances. (See:[Pueblo Feast Days Calendar](https://santafeselection.com/visitor-info/pueblo-feast-days-calendar))
And it’s probably too far from Santa Fe, but there’s Cumbres & Toltec Scenic railroad in Chama. It runs between Chama, NM & San Antonito, CO and is narrow gauge steam railroad. It’s a gorgeous ride in the fall when the aspens are prime. (BTW, if you’ll ride the train you’ll recognize the scenery which has appeared in dozens of movies–see [Cumbres & Toltec Railroad–History](http://cumbrestoltec.com/movie-history/))Advanced reservations are a must!
If you want day hiking or mountain biking suggestions–I can make recommendations.
One caveat: Santa Fe is above 7,000 ft. Altitude sickness is real and often strikes visitors from lower altitudes. Plan on going easy your first couple of days.
I just came back to review this thread, and realized my thanks never got posted…
Thanks to all, especially @outwestmom -you are a great help.
In any case, we are headed out next Friday. Any other ideas? Any hikes that are particularly good? (Our max is 8-10 miles, and we don’t want anything too crazy).
Any recommendation for best food, especially Mexican?
Anything in particular related to the balloon festival we should try to see?
Thanks again
I think you meant to thank @WayOutWestMom
I lived in NM as a kid and have visited as recently as last week. Our friend @WayOutWestMom has great suggestions. Re altitude problems; I used to live in Colorado, I know to hydrate, I’ve been to altitude with no problem before. Those things don’t give you immunity this visit.
I was hit for the first time recently in ABQ . Spent the day hiking and sightseeing and then at nephews wedding. OMG. Splitting headache, nausea, I thought I was going to throw up and everyone at the wedding would think I had too much champagne…really take care to spend a day hydrating instead of hiking!
ETA, double down on Bandelier and los alomos! Best secret spots in NM!
Yes, Thanks for the correction @thumper1.
@dragon, I had a similar experience in Denver recently. I’ve been to many high altitude places before with no problem. In Denver I drank a ton of water, and still had issues I’m assuming were altitude related. Thanks for the reminder.
A mass ascension, a balloon glow, and the special shapes rodeo. There are some hiking trails on the road up to the ski area that should be beautiful this time of year. It will be higher in elevation than SF though. An alternate hike is tent rocks - it’s lower in a desert canyon, but has some very interesting landforms. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-mexico/tent-rocks-trail
Google “tent rocks hike” to look at photos of the area.
****Sorry I didn’t read all the prior posts that had suggested the same things and it won’t let me delete, only edit. I read them again and I couldn’t see where the Native American market in the plaza was mentioned but IMO that’s a must do. I lived there so long ago, I don’t remember if they were only on the weekends or not.
The classic hike is the La Luz Trail, but it’s very strenuous, especially if you’re not used to the altitude. 8 miles plus 2800 ft elevation change with some moderate exposure (falling risk) near the top. Mountain Search & Rescue scrapes a lot of tourists off it during Balloon Fiesta every year. (I won’t mention that my Ds like to run to the top of the Crest via La Luz and can finish in about 2 hours.)
The Pino Trail is slightly less strenuous (and much less busy) than La Luz, but also goes to the top of the Crest. 8 miles and 2800 ft elevation gain.
Much easier and a very scenic stroll is the Crest Trail. Drive to top of the Crest, park at the forest service hut and hike south, turn & return to the car when you’ve had enough. Or you can take the Tram to Crest Trail and either take the tram back down or arrange for a pick up at the forest service hut.
There’s Las Huertas canyon on the east side that has the trail to the Sandia Man Cave. About 1.5 miles of moderately difficult hiking terminating at a cave halfway up the cliff where Ice Age materials were found. Mastodon bones, stone & bones tools, woven sandals, charcoal. No human remains, though.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/cibola/recarea/?recid=71221
There are lots casual day hikes on both the east & west sides of the mountain.
Here’s guide: http://www.sandiahiking.com/trailguide.html
If you’d rather scramble than climb, visit Petroglyph National Monument on the west side of the Rio Grande. One of the largest collection of petroglyphs in the Southwest. Lots of loop trails of varying difficulty through an archaic lava field.
https://www.nps.gov/petr/index.htm
One of my favorite nearby hikes is Tent Rocks National Monument. North of Abq, south of Santa Fe near Cochiti Pueblo and Cochiti Lake. Tent Rocks is home to slot canyons and eerie conical rock formations carved out of the volcanic tuft deposited when the Valles Caldera blew about 11,000 years ago. definitely worth the drive. (about 1 hour from ABQ)
https://www.blm.gov/visit/kktr
This time of year, 4th of July Canyon is spectacular. Called 4th of July because of the native bigtooth maple trees that grow in the canyon. It’s in the Manzano Mountains east on I-40 thru Tijeras Canyon then south on state road 337 (I still call still Rte 14 cuz that it was called when I moved here.) About a 1 hour drive from town to campground/trail head.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/cibola/recarea/?recid=64174
If you want something more adventurous and are willing to travel farther afield–lots of day hikes & hot springs in the Jemez Mountains. Or you can head west towards Grants and hike through El Malpais–a black lava field. Routes are fairly level, but the terrain is very rough and the lava rock will tear up sneakers PDQ. You need hiking boots and plenty of water. There are a couple of ice caves–empty lava tubes that fill up with ice every winter and never quite completely melt away even during the middle of summer-- to explore.
A couple years ago we were in Santa Fe for the Polocrosse Nationals and I decided to miss one of my son’s matches to go to Albuquerque to see the balloon festival. I got up when it was still dark to drive down and see the morning glow and flight. BEST decision. It was amazing. I stayed until about noon and then drove back. I am so glad that I did it. Please do go at that time. Santa Fe didn’t seem any busier than normal. I just loved it!
RE: Altitude sickness. Anyone can develop altitude sickness at any time even if they have never had trouble before. The wife of one DH’s co-workers who is an ABQ native, avid skier and frequent high altitude hiker developed pulmonary edema (a serious & potentially life threatening type of altitude sickness) one day when she went walking along the Crest Trail–a hike she had been on literally dozens upon dozens of times since she was a kid. She had never has issues with altitude before. Fortunately the woman is a physician and recognized the symptoms. She descended back down and took herself to the ER for treatment.
I’m getting excited. Thanks everyone.
I love CC. 