Arroyo Hondo Open Space

Now that I am three years old (21 in dog years!), having lived in Santa Fe my whole life, finding new places to explore close by is always a challenge. We have our few favorite go-to hikes around town, but most new uncharted territories are at least a few hours drive. Lo and behold, we had completely missed out on the very near-by Arroyo Hondo open space until now!

After our human pawrents found out about this place, we didn't have very high expectations for the trails are located right off the interstate so close to town. We pictured short and flat walking trails, and a place for a quick afternoon sprint. How wrong we were! The Arroyo Hondo open space consists of 87 acres of land, over 8 miles of trails, and is only about 7 miles south of downtown Santa Fe. Since we live on the south end of town, we found ourselves at the parking lot in only 15 minutes. Since I hate the car, this is a huge win for me!

From the trailhead, there are many trails to choose from with great maps posted at each intersection. The trails are well-maintained and offer beautiful panoramic views of the Galisteo basin, Cerrillos hills, Ortiz Mountains, and Arroyo Hondo.

It was a beautiful blue-bird day with scattered clouds and a cool, brisk breeze. Little sis was a bit cold at the beginning of the hike, but we quickly warmed up as the trail rolls up and down the Arroyo Hondo hills. The trail definitely felt more like a hike in the mountains than we were expecting. What a great find and so close to home! This is a great place for afternoon hikes in the spring, winter, and fall, open from dawn to dusk.

I love finding new places to explore! There were so many new smells, my nose was in heaven covering all of the new ground --I even got a few cactus thorns in my nose! Nothing my pawrents can't fix. What a fun afternoon!

-Roxie