Absolutely had the best time horseback riding here at ghost ranch! We had the best wrangler--Emma!…read moreWe had a private 1.5 tour with her through the fields and by all the Georgia OKeefe spots! The horses were beautiful and super fun to take out there! Emma made our adventure so fun! If you can get her you will be so pleased! We also hiked chimney rock--a quick 1.5 hour trail up and back! So much to explore and have fun!

I have different feelings about the ranch than I do about the accommodations of staying at the…read moreranch. The first part of this review is going to be about the accomedations: First- I will admit that I am not camper. We did not camp- we stayed in a cottage (Pine 3) which was a queen sized bed. The room fit the bed. I'll give it that. The mattress was so smooshy that I thought I was going to slide between the mattress and the headboard. You get three pillows. Two standard and one queen. You also get about 13" of clearance between the corner of the bed frame and a table. My knees hit that black metal bed corner every time. You also get a lot of bugs because none of the screens seem to really fit the windows. The bathroom was spacious and gave you about 17 options as to where to hang your towels which is good as there are no closets. They are upfront about the rooms. There are no phones or TVs or coffee makers (we brought instant coffee that I made with hot tap water and I do not recommend doing that. Something really screwed up my intestines and I suspect it was drinking the tap water) (there is coffee in the dining hall but it doesn't open until 7am -or rather you can generally sneak in there around 7 but breakfast isn't until 7:30am). I have AT&T and my husband has T-Mobile. I had connectivity for the most part- not a strong signal but enough to get through. We ate at the dining hall during our stay. The first night did not set a great tone- the salmon looked like it had been baking for 3 weeks. Initially i thought that was maybe what my stomach was upset about but I am pretty sure it was the tap water. One day there was a salad bar with no greens. Just shredded cheese and cherry tomatoes. And another time there was no iced tea. We also were looking forward to using the pool but nope. Apparently they had no lifeguard so no one was allowed to use the pool which was a huge bummer because we wasted the space to pack for pool use. Overall I would stay somewhere else (there was a cute looking place nearby called the Abiquiu inn) and paying $10 to visit the ranch which is absolutely stunning views and trails. But for the cost of our stay it felt....not worth it.

Without a doubt one of the best national parks or monuments I've ever been to! Highly, highly…read morerecommended if you are in the Santa Fe area. A couple notes: 1. Parking looks like it might get tough on busy weekends, mid-week we didn't have an issue early, and but when we left in the early afternoon, the main lot was pretty full. 2. The main Pueblo Loop trail was well maintained and quite accessible up to and just past the Big Kiva and Tyuonyi. The top-back part of the loop was a little more broken up, but still a pretty easy stroll. 3. The trail out to the Alcove House was absolutely beautiful! It's not paved, but it's a well maintained gravel. The ladders to the alcove itself are an interesting experience. If you don't love heights, there are some benches at the bottom of the ladder to sit on and relax. 4. Helpfully, there is a well-maintained pit toilet about halfway out, in case you need it. 5. The restaurant at the visitor center might not be the most efficient place, but the food was much better than you would expect!

I have been fascinated by Native American cliff-dwelling habitats since studying them in grade…read moreschool, but I never had, nor took the opportunity to explore them, until daytripping to Bandelier. The visitors' center and the grounds were everything. The paths were clear and an easy hike. Looking off, beyond the paths was the gem. You could viscerally feel as though you were on the otherside of the looking glass, into time forgotten. There was almost a sacred quality to the excursion, which could've been because it was a weekday and there weren't many other tourists. Or, it could've been because the Pueblo people who lived there from 1150 to 1550 were still there, peacefully watching over the place. Haunted is different than sacred. I guess the best way to describe it is: It was a place of a more natural, more wild west and awareness. It's a well-known place to New Mexicans as well as people studied in the culture of the area. As a layperson, I was both surprised and captivated. If you are mesmerized by history and want to step into a different culture, a different time, this is a place you must explore.

Now this was my by far favorite hike/picnic in New Mexico…read more On the way from Valles Caldera to Santa Fe, we noticed few cars parked on the side off NM State Highway 4. I read about this trailhead but was also sure we'll probably miss it since location was not very detailed. There are two smaller parking areas (both on the left side of the road if you're driving to Santa Fe) and they fill out fast. This trailhead provides access to the East Fork Jemez River and views of lush meadows, gorgeous wildflowers and animals on the way. The trail is rated as easy for the first 2 miles and than moderate for the rest of the way to the East Fork Trailhead ( 5 miles). We only walked 1.5 miles, took some food with us and had a lunch on the banks of the East Fork Jemez River. It was mesmerizing. I wish we had more time to walk the whole trail, maybe some other time.

Hidden gem nobody really talks about. Short trail with minimal elevation on a sometimes rocky path…read more Has great historical plaques along the trail and pictures of the now gone Pueblo.

I'll never get tired of the view towards the Rio Grande River from Overlook Park in White Rock. On…read moreevery trip to Northern New Mexico (however far apart), you'll find me here (hot or not) admiring the scenery. Last week was but one experience that I hope to repeat.

We came back in May and it's just not as nice. No waterfall. It's hotter. The sunlight is so bright…read moreand air is drier so there's less color saturation/contrast in the area. Sept and October are the months to visit.

Great little spot to camp, far enough off the highway to minimize traffic noise. The bathrooms are…read moresuper clean.

Great quick hike to an amazing end. If you want to picnic, there are tables. Maybe stop at abode's…read morePhillips 66 gas station on the way up for provisions (across from post office).

Rio Grande Del Norte is vast-there are many different areas to explore and various corners of this…read morenational monument that range from moderately trafficked to fairly remote. Taos.org has a great summary page of the different areas. https://taos.org/explore/landmarks/rio-grande-del-norte-national-monument/ I had done some further research after this overview and opted to visit the Wild Rivers area in the morning and the Rio Grande Gorge area later in the day after lunch back in Taos. Wild Rivers is about 50 minutes from Taos but a scenic drive. Once you are in the public lands, the scenery gets more and more amazing. In the Wild Rivers area, there's a visitor center (currently only open on weekends), a scenic byway with overlooks, campgrounds and hiking trails that take you down to the river. I opted to do the trail to Big Arsenic Springs. The byway was very well signed and there's day use parking that does have a self paid fee. Since it's a BLM administered park (federal) you can instead display your America the Beautiful National Parks pass. Amazing scenery of the river and surrounding canyons along the petroglyphs towards the end of the Big Arsenic trail. The hike I opted for was short (2.5 miles but with an 800 ft elevation gain on the way back up from the river.) The park does an amazing job maintaining the trails and the well graded switchbacks made it a pleasant hike. On the drive out, after my hike, I stopped at other scenic view points. Later in the day, I visited another section of the park, closer to Taos where you can walk across and take in vistas of the Rio Grande Gorge bridge. If you're visiting Taos and love the outdoors, a visit to this park is a must. It's quieter than your typical national parks with fewer amenities but still an awe inspiring outdoor adventure (without the crowds!)

We took an hour walk on the West Rim Trail that's part of Rio Grande del Norte National Monument…read morewhile visiting the Rio Grande bridge in late May 2023. The trail starts right at the parking lot and it's beautiful. Gorgeous views of the river too. Many bunnies that day.

This waterfall blew my mind! I didn't know that such a large waterfall existed in NM! I'm so glad…read morewe hiked it, and I'll be back! The water was pretty frigid, but still fun!

The staff here is rude and act like they are doing you a favor by letting you pay them $20 to see a…read morefalls, the view of which is ruined by the dam, clearly built above it. I do not recommend.

I really loved this trail! This trail is not for the faint of heart or the beginner. It's a…read morechallenge but a good challenge. You can go at your own pace and you'll get to see all the beautiful butterflies and other creatures. Huge area and very clean. Great for camping, picnics, and hiking.

It was so nice! I'd recommend going the first week of October, we went October 18th and it was…read morepast peak so some of the trees were already bare. But still, super nice, a bit chilly, but an amazing way to start a Sunday morning with the puppers The AllTrails map has you do a loop, but we did it as an out and back and hiked 2.5 miles in before turning around on the less steep side.