Soft Adventure Meets Luxury Spas in New Mexico
Beyond the prestigious art galleries, hippie-chic boutiques, and cultural abundance of Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico also offers a lesser-known adventure experience.
One of my favorite New Mexico adventures was an action-packed week spent river rafting, horse back riding, mountain biking, hiking, and even llama trekking. Better yet, at the end of each day, I returned to world-class dining, exotic spa treatments, and luxurious lodgings.
Ready to launch your own New Mexico escape? I’ve already done the legwork for you. Here’s my travel-tested lineup of where to stay, and play, in and around Santa Fe and Taos:
Stay
I started off the week at a unique, locally owned retreat, Sunrise Springs Resort Spa, a seventy-acre tranquil eco oasis built around spring-fed ponds, fluttering cottonwoods, and organic gardens twelve miles from downtown Santa Fe. My husband and I spent two nights, but could happily have stayed a week. Between the extensive selections of healing treatments at the resort’s Spa Samadhi, the art and yoga classes at the Sages Arts Center, and the inspired menu at the Blue Heron Restaurant (don’t miss their freshly made ceviches!), there was plenty to tempt us to extend our stay. Fourteen years ago to the day, we eloped to Santa Fe. Celebrating our anniversary over an exquisite dinner of conch ceviche, crab, and roasted corn flan and pan seared halibut at the water’s edge beneath ancient willows and cottonwoods while a jazz quartet played nearby was divine. Truly a special moment enjoyed in a special place. You can bet we’ll be back.
Fortunately, next up was three nights at La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa, situated just two blocks from Santa Fe’s historic Plaza and gallery strewn Canyon Road. A primo shopper’s locale, be sure to budget in dinner at Fuego, a AAA Four Diamond restaurant; you won’t regret it. Their new executive chef, Mary Nearn, has created an innovative menu that left us talking about it for days afterwards. Her Ancho chile basted pork tenderloin with Anasazi beans, Spanish chorizo, and peanut mole was delish!
For years, I’ve wanted to soak in the healing hot springs at Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, long a local favorite, but somehow I never got there—until this trip. It did not disappoint. Open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., you can enjoy all seven mineral pools, bathhouse, steam, sauna, and mud bath at the budget-friendly cost of $16 for the day, with additional spa services available. Or you can stay overnight, like we did, and wander back to your room from the pools in your bathrobe, star gaze until the cool evening air drives you inside to snuggle up next to a kiva fireplace and wake up to dazzling golden light illuminating red rock cliffs. Ah, there’s most definitely something in the water—specifically, lithia, iron, soda, and arsenic (yup, arsenic, regulars swear by it). Deemed sacred by the Native American tribes of northern New Mexico, the geothermal springs have been soothing body, mind and spirit for hundreds, even thousands, of years.
Topping off the week was the elegant Casa de las Chimeneas Inn & Spa, Taos’ best kept secret since 1988. This hidden gem, tucked away in a quiet residential neighborhood in walking distance to the Plaza, was, perhaps, the nicest surprise of the trip. Spacious accommodations, exceptionally lovely breakfasts, and gracious gardens (with cozy seating and WiFi for those of us who like our morning news in electronic form) had me wishing we could stay more than the one night we’d allowed. Live and learn.
Play
No, you don’t have to head to Macchu Pichu to find a llama trek. Wild Earth Llama Adventures in Taos offers everything from gourmet-lunch day hikes to multi-day wilderness adventures. Their “take a llama to lunch” day hike was a trip highlight. I’m a sucker for animal interaction and these adorable llamas had me hooked with the first flutter of their long, lovely eyelashes. While the llamas toted our lunch, backpacks, and water, we were free to amble along beside them, fascinated by our four-legged hiking companions and distracted from the actual mileage we covered. The genius behind the treks is forty-year-old owner and llama guru, Stuart Wilde, a congenial outdoorsman who traded the concrete and congestion of New York city for the wild blue yonder twenty years ago and hasn’t looked back since. Next time, we’re booking a multi-day trip, followed by a shower and stay at Casa de las Chimeneas!
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