Santa Fe Itineray
 

Well, here is what our tentative plan is for a family of 7 - four adults and three children (6,9 and11) . One of the adults is our expert because she lives in Santa Fe. We would appreciate feedback before plans are finalized later this week.

July 23 to August 9

Santa Fe (3 nights)
Bandelier
Tent Rocks
Local stuff including Meow Wolf, concerts, etc.
Valles Caldera
Acoma Pueblo
San Miguel Mission
White Water Rafting
Bike Tour

Abiquiu ( 2 nights)

Abiquiu Lake
Ghost Ranch
Petroglyph Perserve

Farmington ( 2 nights)

Durango
Four Corners
Chaco Canyon
Train
Bisti Badlands

At this point we have to go to Albuquerque because one person is flying home.

Albuquerque ( 2 nights)
Still Planning


Ruidoso ( 2 nights)
White Sands
Petroglyphs
Roswell
Lincoln ( Billy the Kid)

Carlsbad (1 night)
Caverans

Santa Fe (4 nights)
Finish things we do not get to in the beginning and relax with family.

Question

Some of us have been to Mesa Verde before. Debating whether to go with kids. I have heard it is really crowded and sections are roped off and not really kid friendly.

All suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

You have a lot planned! Take some time to enjoy Santa Fe, which is a beautiful place. There are lots of museums, and the kids might like those. Adults might like art galleries on Canyon Road. There are lots of festivals in the summer and free concerts. Check out Tourism Santa Fe, which has a website with lists of fun activities for kids and adults. In Albuquerque, be sure to go to Old Town. There are tours in both Santa Fe and ABQ. Past the Ghost Ranch, there is am amphitheater--forgot the name but something like Echo Canyon. Be aware not every place in Santa Fe has air conditioning, also, if you stay in a hotel, you might get one with a pool for the kids. Have fun. I go there every summer but will,likely skip this summer.

None of the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde are accessible without a guide or at least the presence of a ranger. There are some walks to ruins up on the mesa, but generally little independent hiking. Even staff members cannot go poking around off the main walks without ranger supervision--so I was told.

Acoma is closer to Albuquerque than Santa Fe.

In Santa Fe, there is the Museum of International Folk Art that might interest the family.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7622984070940/ and subsequent pictures.

Tent Rocks is between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, so that could be visited either on your way to SF, or when you are in Albuquerque.

I would take the kids to Mesa Verde, both the Mesa Top loop and Wetherell Mesa have sites for them to explore.

On your way to Chaco Canyon, stop in Aztec Ruin which is near Bloomfield (the closest lodging to Chaco that we've found if you don't camp)

If you're interested in petroglyph and pictographs, click my name and scroll down for several TRs, all the southwest ones have included going to sites for them.

Have a great trip and get some lodging set up asap.

Bisti Badlands, is this accessible with an ordinary car? I kind of doubt it.

Thanks - still working on this!

Tom_mn, it looks like it's accessible.
http://www.americansouthwest.net/new...isti_badlands/

Lee Ann

Do not underestimate your need and particularly your children's need for water. This is a very, very ambitious plan in very dry country. Perspiration will dry before you are aware of even having it, and the consequences of dehydration can be terrible. There are areas here that did not have cell phone service last time I passed through. That may have changed, but it is not forgiving country.

You are spending more time in Abiquiu than I would, especially with children, and I miss Chama and the railroad facilities. Ditto Los Alamos and the museum there.

Ackislander makes a good point about Abiquiu. It's only about 90 minutes from Santa Fe, so it's a pretty easy day trip.

Lee Ann

If you are in a rental car, going into the Bisti badlands will probably void the contract, since the roads were very rough. Ok if you are willing to pay for any damages or loss for the car, but the last time we were there there was a washout and a car looked abandoned on the far side of it.

Michael is right about Acoma, it is on the other side of ABQ, not even close to in between Santa Fe and ABQ.
Why no Taos?
I would plan on driving the turquoise trail one way or the other between Santa Fe and ABQ. Madrid is a cool little town to stop in for lunch and ice cream or chocolate.

Does anyone know if one needs guides to travel to the Acoma Puebla and also Bandelier. I have a sense that a good guide would be an invaluable asset on a trip to New Mexico as it is such a rich area..

Bandelier is basically self-guided. However, in the summer you cannot drive into the park unless you intend to camp.

https://www.nps.gov/band/visitsum17.htm

Acoma Pueblo can only be visited with a native guide. Stop at their Visitor's Center, buy a ticket and hop on the bus for the trip up to the Pueblo. Respect the photography rules. The guides we've had give a nice tour. If it is windy, give it a pass.

While you are in Santa Fe, you might go up to Taos Pueblo. A little different from Acoma but I found both interesting.

"Why no Taos?"

I personally found Taos a bit underwhelming, though the drive there is interesting.

If memory serves after we visited Bandelier we circled around and went to the Bradbury Science museum in/near Los Alamos.

"Bandelier is basically self-guided." True, but they do have park rangers who will take out visitors. They usually meet near he gift shop and I don't know if it is a regular thing but he was just gather folks and asked if we wanted to join him. He added a lot of info that was not obvious from the park itself.

You can opt to walk down from Aroma, back to visitor center. Nice alternative to bus back.

Also, be sure to check time for last tour, you don't want to go all that way only to find you missed last departure.

It is a long drive from ABQ, over an hour, but worth it.

There are feast days that are open to public, those are great as you get to see dances and often will get invited in to a home ( or2) to share a meal

Acoma, not Aroma.

Albuquerque: Take the Sandia Crest Tram to the top. There was a restaurant at the top but they have torn it down and are building a new one. However, going up on the tram is amazing and the kids will love it. It's especially beautiful during sunset. Since July and August are monsoon season, you could see some spectacular rain storms with lightning in the distance. Of course they would not operate the tram if there are high winds or storms close to that area but you can see so far away from the top that you are seeing miles away. You would probably want to allow a couple of hours from start to finish at the most.
If you watched Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul, there are many locations all over ABQ. There are actually tours you can pay to take but I looked up all the locations myself several years ago and Google mapped the addresses in the most economical order. We have taken visiting friends on the tour three times in the past three years and they loved it. Another fun and quick thing to do that the kids would enjoy is "The Singing Road". Look it up, it is off of interstate 40. It is one of those funky roadside attractions. Be sure to take the Turquoise Trail between Santa Fe and Albuquerque starting from either city. The Singing Road would be very close to the end point of the Turquoise Trail on the ABQ end. Madrid is a really funky, artsy town on the Turquoise Trail as well.
I could never spend enough time in Santa Fe, it is beautiful and there is so much to do in town as well as all of the places you mentioned you are planning to go.
I live in Las Cruces, NM so of course we love the Ruidoso, Cloudcroft area to beat the heat and White Sands is awesome, (40 minutes from my house) If you are going to Ruidoso, be sure to spend half a day in Cloudcroft which is a short drive from there. Cute shops on Burro Ave., and the Lodge is a really neat historic hotel with a resident ghost named Rebecca. They have a lovely restaurant in the hotel called Rebecca's and the views from there are of the Tularosa Basin. If you stay in Las Cruces, be sure and go to Old Mesilla, there is a basilica church on the plaza there, one of two basilicas in NM, the other one is St. Francis in Santa Fe. There are wonderful restaurants, nice shops and it is charming. If you have any other questions about the area, I should be able to answer! Have fun! And buy a huge case of water to keep in the car. The altitude changes and dry heat catch up with you quickly.

One more suggestion. I am not sure Roswell is worth adding to your trip. It is a pretty long drive from everywhere and there is next to nothing there unless you just have to see the UFO tourist attractions.

Glad you are doing the Ruidoso area and Lincoln Billy the Kid stuff, which I always find fascinating no matter how many times I go. There are some horseback riding opportunities in Ruidoso that the kids might like as well as lots of cabin options in this little mountain town.

Try to be at Carlsbad Caverns for the bat flight around dusk. It can be pretty amazing.

The UFO Museum Roswell is a fun stop if you are already out that way. Kids will enjoy that, too. Admission was free last time we were there, which was a few years ago.