Here’s a Santa Fe rite of passage. You arrive, climb one set of stairs at the hotel, and wonder if you’re more out of shape than you thought. You’re probably not. The city sits somewhere around seven thousand feet, and the air takes a day or two to get used to.
That’s no reason to skip the trails. It’s just a reason to start easy.
Start slow
Give yourself a gentle first day. Walk the Plaza, drink more water than seems reasonable, and notice how you feel. A little headache or tiring faster than usual is pretty normal early on and tends to fade.
A few easy trails
When you’re ready for a real outing, the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve is a lovely place to begin. The loop is mostly flat, it winds along the river under big cottonwoods, and it feels miles from town even though it isn’t.
We get a lot of Santa Fe conversations at Uncle Sheldon, partly because people fall for the place and start wondering what it would take to move here. That’s where being a concierge agency comes in handy. We’re the ones who remember that your health coverage may not follow you across state lines, and we sort that out while you’re busy house hunting. Anyway, back to the trails.
La Tierra Trails, on the west side of town, is a wide open web of easy paths with big high desert views. Because the routes connect in so many places, turning back early is always simple, which is exactly what you want in your first few days.
The Dale Ball Trails sit in the foothills nearby and range from mellow to properly steep. Pick one short stretch and call it a win.
One for later in the trip
Aspen Vista is worth holding back until you’ve adjusted. It’s up the road toward the ski area, starts higher than town, and is famous for golden aspens in the fall. Come winter that same road fills with skiers, and if that’s on your list, it’s worth knowing how ski coverage works before you head up.
Go early, before the afternoon heat and the summer storms. Take the easier fork when you’re unsure. The views don’t get any worse for it.