5 Kid-Friendly Places to Visit in Santa Fe This Spring
During the summer we spend a lot of time getting things done around the house and in the garden, but sometimes you just need a change of scenery! Day trips are a great easy way to occupy the kids’ time… and they also provide a phenomenal excuse for parents to stop working for a bit and get out of town!
Here’s where we like to take the family during Santa Fe’s summer months. So pack up some snacks, charge those iPad batteries, and head to the car!
Salman Raspberry Ranch
Time from Santa Fe: about 1.5 hrs
This first trip is amazing, especially if you have kiddos with lots of energy who like to be outdoors. During late summer, you basically just drive up there, get a bucket, and pick all the berries you want!
The front page of their website gives opening dates and hours for all the different activities, so just give it a quick check before you go.
Picking berries together is such a sweet activity to do with kids, and there’s a super picturesque general store across the street from the ranch. Make sure to check out the La Cueva mill, which actually generated electricity up until 1949! The old adobe architecture is really beautiful if you want to get some gorgeous pictures.
Make it a Weekend: Stop by Las Vegas, NM and go to Mora; then drive over through Chimayo and back down.
Tubing In Pagosa Springs, CO
Time from Santa Fe: 3-3.5 hrs
This is admittedly a longer drive for a day trip, but can still be done if you’re prepared. We have a house there, but the Springs Resort is also a cool place to stay. There’s a great family-friendly park alongside the river, and they have natural hot springs right on site.
We love going in the summer especially: the river isn’t too deep, so your kids can just run up the river and tube, then hop out at the hot springs to warm up, and continue the cycle as long as they want! With Matt in the role of “playful Dad who keeps Isla entertained,” sometimes I even get the luxury of a couple hours for uninterrupted reading!
Pagosa Springs has tons to do for active families. In July when the water’s down, we can just hang here at the river all day long using the grills and the playground. Sometimes we’ll bring a friend for Isla on purpose, but almost every time we go we’ll actually run into someone we know — which just shows you how popular this place is!
Make it a Weekend (or Long Weekend): Check out one of the amazing folk music festivals that happen there every year! You could also go in September for the hot air balloons!
Eating at The Hollar in Madrid
If you’re just looking for a super quick change of pace, this trip is your best bet. The Hollar is an awesome restaurant just down the road from the Mine Shaft Tavern in Madrid. We did the interior design here, and my brother owns it; we’re just so proud of how successful they’ve been!
The Hollar has great indoor seating and a delicious menu, but the real gem is their outdoor patio. There’s almost always live music, and the atmosphere is extremely family friendly (even though they serve drinks!).
Their kids’ menu is made from scratch (no frozen chicken nuggets here!), and they even have a special menu just for your pups! You can take your leashed dogs on the patio and get a real meal for them too — the kitchen has chicken and rice or beef and rice ready to go especially for your furry best friends.
Madrid is a fun day or afternoon trip in its own right. You can spend a chill few hours checking out out some of the art galleries and various shops around town — there are tons of interesting things to see in this revived ghost town!
I hope you’ll love these trips as much as we do! Practice up on your eye-spy skills, try (in vain?) to learn the rules for those super-complicated kid-invented games, and enjoy the open road with your family this summer!
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