There’s plenty to do in Santa Fe with kids, or just go as adults. Here are some of the highlights.
The Georgia O’Keefe Museum is a manageable size with kids. They say to expect to stay for 1 hour – which is about the amount of time we spent. They have devices you can borrow to listen to commentary on certain pieces you choose or you can pull up their website and listen on your phone. They will give you earbuds to use – but probably better to just bring your own. Kids may like the movie which shows her development through time.
There’s an exhibit that shows what she wore, painted in and painted with.
The museum has a nice gift shop with kids’ items, and reasonably priced jewelry and other items. They also have free lockers and a coat room. Check the website for Family Days to see if they have any special activities when you’ll be there. The museum is a few blocks from the plaza and they are building a newer, larger museum nearby (we saw where they had broken ground and were actively building – just down the block from the current museum. Note that the museum is NOT Ghost Ranch, where she lived. The museum is not affiliated with Ghost Ranch.
Santa Fe is known for its art, and you will find all types. We saw this patriotic and massive sculpture in a gallery facing the Plaza. The blocks surrounding the Plaza are worth walking around – plenty to poke your head into and explore.
Especially on weekends, artists have designated spots at this old adobe building facing the plaza. You can buy jewelry from the Native American artisans themselves. The plaza is a lovely place to stroll or hang out and people watch.
We were told there are 300 galleries in this town of 70,000 people. We went in winter (February) and it was not crowded at all. I can’t imagine what it would be like in summer. We had lots of time to talk to those working at the galleries, and getting background on various artists. There is a wide variety of art in Santa Fe and if you don’t like what you see in one gallery, just move on to the next.
We spent the afternoon wandering up and down Canyon Road, where there’s a big concentration of galleries. There are some cafes on that road, including The Teahouse, where we got a sandwich and salad, but if we had more time we would have had a leisurely tea as well. The Ahmyo Wine Garden sells hot chocolate in addition to wine and other drinks. You can find some other Canyon Road restaurants here.
We enjoyed Materiality Fine Arts, off of Canyon Road. They had a big selection of Jeffie Brewer’s sculptures, which were whimsical and kids would love them. I was very taken with gallery co-owner Ernst Gruler’s lamps, which were made of branches and hand-made paper.
Santa Fe is a funky place and we had fun looking at the sticker graffiti.
Not surprisingly, Santa Fe had incredible sunsets. We caught an amazing one from the rooftop of the Drury Hotel (which we’ll tell you about later in this post).
One of the highlights of our trip was this hike in Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Note that you NEED RESERVATIONS. They only let in a certain number of people per day (not cars, but people). You’ll need your own car to get there from Santa Fe . And you’ll need a BLM ticket and a Purple Pass, which is to let you into the Indian Reservation. Once you get to the welcome center, they will check your pass and you will follow a truck to get to the parking area, passing through the town (hence, an Uber won’t work). You can spend as much time as you want at Tent Rocks (well, within reason – they do want you out at a certain time and the last entry is around 1:00). Upon leaving, a truck will again lead you back to the main road.
I think the hike is rated as difficult, but it’s not that difficult. There is a little bit of scrambling up some rocks in the ara especially in the photo above. There is some slippery gravel. But if you take your time, it’s not bad. I did it with a cold and while coughing, and am not the world’s greatest hiker. There were kids on the trail. Just take your time if you need to. In some places on the trail you need to wait for others to pass. When I read reviews online it sounded like it would get really crowded. We didn’t find it to be crowded. Yes, we occasionally waited for a minute (great time to catch your breath!). It was a sold-out day, so me saying that it didn’t feel crowded says something.
Above you’ll see a slot canyon you want through to get to the higher climbing. The canyon was gorgeous and has the risk of flash floods during rainy times. They will close the area in case of that potential. Bring snacks and water. They have none of that past the initial welcome center. The parking lot has a pit toilet and there are none on the trail.
Santa Fe has the original Meow Wolf and it was top of our list to go to. Kids will love it here, and adults will love it or perhaps hate it. You need a timed ticket, so plan ahead. Think of Meow Wolf as a combination of an immersive art installation, an escape room and a play structure. There is a story, the House of Eternal Return, if you choose to pay attention to it. You do not have to.
You’ll start of in the house above and explore, eventually making your way to the art installations (many of them) outside the house. We’re doing a separate post on Meow Wolf so I’ll just leave it here. You can spend a lot of time here if you have it, and if your family is interested. We found it fascinating and creative.
We spent a fantastic day at the Ten Thousand Waves spa. They also have a hotel. It’s a 10 minute drive from the downtown Santa Fe area. They have community tubs and saunas, and you can rent out a private soaking room by the hour (pay is per person for private tubs, not per room). They allow “well-behaved children” at Ten Thousand Waves, though some facilities are off-limits to those under 16. On behalf of those visiting, please please reconsider bringing younger kids here. It is serene and peaceful and you don’t want to ruin that for the otherfolks. I could see many teens enjoying it.
Ten Thousand Waves has lodging and a highly-regarded Japanese restaurant (which was unfortunately closed for the time we were there – they were redoing the floors that week). We got a signature Japanese shiatsu massage which was unlike anything I’ve gotten before. It’s apparently a technique that is someone original to them – clothes on, some stretching (similar to a Thai massage).
The Loretto Chapel is worth a quick visit with kids. It’s near the plaza and it is famous for its staircase, built with no visible means of support. There’s no center column, and no bolsters (the connection to the column was added in later years to ensure stability). Kids might like to learn about how it was to connect the sanctuary to the choir area for the students – this was part of a school. The staircase has two full 360-degree turns and was built without nails (using wooden pegs) and built without the railing you see now. Can you imagine climbing it without a railing?
We looked at a lot of hotels before choosing the Drury. I heard about this chain as so many people going to Nashville stay in it. We were thrilled with the Drury in Santa Fe. The photo above is the suite, which has 2 queen beds and a pull-out couch. The rooms all come with a mini fridge as well.
The Drury was a bargain, not only because it was priced well. But also they offer a lot of other value. Breakfast is included. It was a huge breakfast buffet, with eggs, sausage, potatoes, fruit, oatmeal, waffles, yogurt, breads, cereal etc. They have coffee/tea 24/7 (though I didn’t see any herbal teas – so if you want that, bring your own). Each late afternoon they have “kickback” which is drinks and food. Not just nachos, but literally dinner: soup, salad, mashed potatoes, veggies, and meat. Plus popcorn. And you get a drink card for 3 alcoholic beverages per day. They’ll make you a mixed drink (to be honest, they were meh), wine or beer. And you don’t need the card to get soda.
The people at the Drury were consistently friendly, helpful and proactive. Coming from New Jersey, this was disconcerting. The car attendants offered restaurant suggestions. The breakfast/kickback staff continually checked in with us to see how they could make our stay better. The front desk staff: really nice. We can’t say enough about how good a stay we had!
Two other things to call out about the Drury Santa Fe. They have a rooftop pool and hot tub, where we watched the sunset one night. We got lucky that night – the hot tub was virtually empty. You can bring your drinks up there in a plastic container – they have plastic cups when you walk into the pool area to transfer your drinks. The sunset was incredible and I’m sure rivals any of the rooftop bars we had on our list – which don’t have hot tubs you can watch from!
Also the hotel has wonderful art (for sale) throughout the facility. They work with a company to curate it and you can take a curator tour (we didn’t have time).
If you fly out of Santa Fe, get to the airport early. It’s small but unique. You can sit outside to watch the planes take off and come in. That’s my plane in the picture.
Have you been to Santa Fe with kids? What do you recommend doing with them?