Fodor's Expert Review Ghost Ranch

Open to the public year-round, this sprawling, stunningly situated ranch is busiest in summer, when the majority of workshops take place, and when visitors drive up after having toured the O'Keeffe home in nearby Abiquiú. Now a retreat center, the ranch also offers a wealth of interesting activities for day visitors, including a few different guided Georgia O'Keeffe tours across the landscape she painted during the five decades she summered here (the house she lived in is not part of the tour and is closed to the public). Other guided (and self-guided) hikes amid the property's dramatic rock formations touch on archaeology and paleontology, history, and the several movies that have been filmed here (Cowboys and Aliens, City Slickers, Wyatt Earp, and a few others). Visitors can also tour the Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology, which contains Native American tools, pottery, and other artifacts excavated from the Ghost Ranch Gallina digs, and the adjacent Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology. Workshops, which touch on everything from photography and poetry to yoga and wellness, are offered throughout the year—guests can camp or stay in semi-rustic cottages or casitas. If you're not attending a workshop or retreat, Ghost Ranch opens its accommodations to the general public from November through April (there's a two-night minimum stay, but rates are quite reasonable). Other experiences on the property include art exhibits, trail rides, massage treatments, and kayaking and canoeing in nearby Abiquiú. When you arrive, drop by the welcome center, which also houses a trading post stocked with books, art, O'Keeffe ephemera, and a basic coffee station (there's also a dining hall serving cafeteria-style meals throughout the day).