Santa Fe

Less than 2 miles from the Santa Fe Plaza in the Sangre de Cristo foothills, Canyon is a Historic Eastside suburb just east of the Canyon Road Arts District that's filled with dirt roads and adobe homes dating back as far as the 17th century. “This is the oldest part of Santa Fe, so it’s the best of the best for homebuyers looking to get into the city’s history,” says Paige Cochran, a Santa Fe local and Associate Broker with Keller Williams Realty. Although Canyon lacks the art galleries and eateries of its fellow Eastside neighborhoods, its greenery along the Santa Fe River, access to numerous neighborhood parks and central location in the Dale Ball Trail Network offer a blend of the City Different's vibrant culture and natural world. “The most important thing when buying a home in Santa Fe is assessing the surrounding outdoor spaces to make sure you get to take advantage of this city’s nature, and the Upper Canyon Road area has some of the best in the city,” says Mark Rochester, a born-and-raised Santa Fe local and Broker with Berkshire Hathaway. Early 20th-century Santa Fe-style homes can be found throughout the Canyon community, but the central Santa Fe River splits the neighborhood into a lusher northern half and more arid southern half. Those in the northern half are surrounded by the juniper-piñon woodlands of the Sangre de Cristo foothills, and they sit on spacious, manicured lots along 17th-century dirt roads. “They were originally meant for horseback riders coming through town. You have to drive slow on them to avoid kicking up dust, but they’ve got great history,” says Emily Medvec, an Associate Broker with EXP and Santa Fe local. These northern homes often feature exposed wooden beams called vigas, flat roofs and tan stucco or adobe exteriors. “Many of the homes in Santa Fe are no longer adobe since it's so expensive to build with, so it’s great when you can find an authentic adobe house since they’re so solidly built and great for insulation,” says Lise Knouse, a Broker Owner with Keller Williams Realty and Santa Fe local. Prices range from $875,000 for three-bedroom homes on quarter-acre lots to $3.1 million for four-bedroom mansions on over 5 acres. In the southern half of Canyon, Santa Fe-style homes sit closer together on more compact lots covered with desert grasses, and they often feature bright stucco exteriors and detached garages. Prices for these homes range from $587,000 for a fixer-upper to $700,000 for a renovated two-bedroom. Across the street from Cristo Rey Catholic Church, Water History Park is home to Santa Fe’s 1895 Hydroelectric Power Plant, which fed the city electricity till 1943; every September, the Canyon Neighborhood Association hosts a cookout and potluck here to celebrate the community. Small neighborhood parks like Atalaya Park and Adam Gabriel Armijo Park dot Canyon’s streets and feature playgrounds and picnic areas; the latter park is also lined neighbored by the gardens of the Upaya Zen Center and Maha Bodhi Society of Santa Fe, two of the only Buddhist monasteries in the city. Canyon is also the midpoint of the Dale Ball Trail Network, which spans nearly 25 miles over the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. “They run through piñons and junipers and these beautiful ridges, but the best part is that they're all connected to Hyde Park’s and Atalaya Mountain’s trails, too,” Rochester says. Around a mile east, the Randall Davey Audobon Center and Sancturary is over 135 acres, and its nature garden’s beebalms and wild hyssops attract over 190 bird species. Canyon Road in neighboring Historic Santa Fe is home to over 80 galleries and is the center of the City Different’s art scene. Among its galleries are Chiarascuro Contemporary Art, a small-scale setting featuring mixed media paintings by local artists, and Canyon Road Contemporary Fine Art, which on top of its gallery sells oil paintings, gemstones and sculptures in its boutique. This art district also hosts events throughout the year, including the Canyon Road Paint and Sculp Out; this mid-October event fills the famous street with painters and sculptors, who invite visitors to learn more about their process as the create their art. The Canyon Road Arts District is almost as famous for its shops and eateries as its art galleries. The Teahouse invites diners to enjoy rare, iced oolongs and purple yam pastries in its outdoor fruit orchard. El Farol has served New Mexican tapas like chorizo-shrimp empanadas and flash fried avocados since 1935. Desert Moss Vintage is run by the husband-wife duo the Rios and has a wealth of vintage tee-shirts, coffee mugs, typewriters and more. Less than 2 miles west on the Santa Fe Trail, Kaune’s Neighborhood Market is the community’s go-to grocery spot since 1896. Local kids can start at Atalaya Elementary, which earns a B-plus from Niche and received a Designation of Excellence from New Mexico Vistas in 2023. The Kindergarten through Grade 6 Rio Grande School is a private alternative and sits next to Atalaya Elementary by Atalaya Park. Children can continue to C-minus-rated Milagro Middle and A-minus-rated Santa Fe High. Opened in 1899, Santa Fe High is the city’s oldest school and offers programs for culinary arts, engineering and JROTC. Canyon is under 2 miles east of the Santa Fe Plaza and less than 6 miles north of Interstate 25. “Santa Fe’s extremely easy to get around, but that whole Historic Eastside area is especially convenient because it's in the center of everything,” says Rochester. The Cerro Gordo and Upper Canyon roads are the neighborhood's main thoroughfares, and the latter is a sharrow (a road marked with bicycle signs) that allows cyclists and cars to share the road. Although Canyon is near downtown, its narrow, sidewalk-free roads are unwalkable. CHRISTUS Saint Vincent Regional Hospital is under 4 miles south, and the Santa Fe Regional Airport is over 12 miles west.

Located in the historic South Capitol community, Don Diego offers a quiet, suburban feel right on the edge of Downtown Santa Fe and the Railroad Arts District, near the New Mexico State Capitol Building. When Santa Fe’s railroad industry boomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, folks from the Eastern United States flocked to the Don Diego area, bringing a unique housing style with them. “There’s brick Craftsman bungalows here that you’ll never see anywhere else in Santa Fe,” says Paige Cochran, an Associate Broker with Keller Williams Realty and Santa Fe local who specializes in the South Capitol area. Don Diego continues to attract newcomers and locals with its access to the Wood Gormley School District and walkability. “People from South Capitol will walk to downtown and the Plaza all the time, because it’s all right there,” says Lise Knouse, Broker Owner of Keller Williams Realty who has nearly 20 years’ experience selling homes in the city. Laid out on a grid, Don Diego’s worn streets are lined with cottonwood and apricot trees, and although many lack sidewalks, locals still manage to walk their kids to school or go running. Homes here sit on spacious lots, tucked behind adobe and cobblestone fences, and shaded by mature juniper trees. The early 20th-century Craftsman bungalows that distinguish the South Capitol area often feature red-brick or tan stucco exteriors, as well as large front porches and backyard patios; prices start at $930,000 for three-bedroom bungalows and go up to $1.3 million for four-bedroom versions on nearly an acre. Santa Fe-style adobe homes are also common here and can date anywhere between the 1860s and 2010s; older homes feature authentic adobe exteriors, while newer properties have wooden frames coated with tan stucco. These Santa Fe-style homes have flat roofs, ornamented parapets and exposed wooden framing painted in vibrant blues and greens; prices start at $660,000 for newer two-bedrooms and go up to $1.9 million for more historic four-bedrooms. Attached condos can also be found here in the Santa Fe-style Las Brisas and Marquez Place complexes. Prices range from $450,000 for one-bedroom units to $665,000 for two-bedroom units closer to downtown. Local kids can start at Wood Gormley Elementary, which Niche gives an A-minus, then continue to C-minus-rated Milagro Middle, which offers classes for Native Spanish speakers and English Language Learners. Santa Fe High earns an A-minus, and its boys’ soccer team won their first-ever 2-AAAAA state championship in 2021. (Go, Demons!) Set on quiet Pueblo Drive and surrounded by homes, Orlando Fernadez Park is a manicured green field covered with clover and dotted with cottonwood trees; Don Diegans often bring their dogs here to play fetch. The 10-acre Santa Fe Railyard Park is just across the street from Don Diego, and its mixture of paved and gravel trails pass the Rail Runner railway, desert shrubbery and a playground featuring rock-climbing walls and slides. Just south of the neighborhood, Harvey Cornell Rose Park is named for the tree-shaded garden on its north side, where paved paths wind around yellow, white, red, pink and orange rose bushes; the south side of the park is a flat field with cottonwood and dogwood trees, the latter of which bloom pink and white in spring. “There’s tons of little restaurants all around South Capitol, even though it’s a residential area,” Knouse says. Maria’s New Mexican Restaurant has been beloved for its green chile meatballs since 1950, and it names its margaritas (like the blood orange-infused Duram Norte) after regulars. The father-daughter duo behind El Chile Toreado food truck became James Beard Best Chef semi-finalists in 2023, and their roasted green chiles and signature burritos are neighborhood favorites. The city's only antique mall, Santa Fe Antiques offers vintage furniture and jewelry, as well as collector items like retro Coca-Cola signs. Whole Foods sits at the neighborhood’s northern edge, while more shopping and dining options can be found further north in Downtown Santa Fe. Saint Francis Drive is Don Diego’s main thoroughfare; it leads to Downtown Santa Fe immediately north, and connects to Interstate 25 around 2 miles south. Santa Fe Trails buses make stops along Saint Francis Drive and Don Diego Avenue, and the South Capitol Rail Runner Station is less than a mile west. Running beside the Rail Runner’s tracks, the nearly 16-mile Santa Fe Rail-Trail starts just north of Don Diego in Santa Fe Railyard Park. Santa Fe Indian Hospital is 2 miles north, and the Santa Fe Regional Airport is 11 miles west. On Saturdays, the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market draws Don Diegans to the neighboring Railyard Arts District. Among dozens of local vendors, folks can grab fresh raspberry lavender jam from Heidi’s Raspberry Farm, honey by the jar from Buckin’ Bee Honey (a market staple since 2001) or shop for fresh produce. Cafe Fresh caters the event, ensuring shoppers have coffee and pastries while perusing the market’s stalls.

The merchant prince Don Gaspar Ortiz may have led noisy wagon trains through here in the 19th century, but the Don Gaspar Historic District is now better known as a quiet suburb with unique architecture and a central location. “It’s such a walkable area and so close to downtown,” says Paige Cochran, an Associate Broker with Keller Williams Realty and Santa Fe local. A part of the greater South Capitol community, Don Gaspar boomed in the late 1800s and early 1900s alongside Santa Fe’s railroad industry, and the Craftsman bungalows built here can't be found elsewhere in Santa Fe. The eclectic-ness of these century-old bungalows continues to attract newcomers, and young families with children are drawn to the area’s access to highly rated schools. “Wood Gormely Elementary is right here, and it’s highly sought-after,” says Lise Knouse, Broker Owner of Keller Williams Realty who has nearly 20 years’ experience selling homes in Santa Fe. Low-hanging apricot trees create a canopy over Don Gaspar’s narrow streets, brick sidewalks and dirt alleyways. Craftsman bungalows from the 1880s to 1920s line the central Don Gaspar Avenue and are built with either red bricks, cream-colored stucco, or other locally sourced materials. “A lot of the houses here were made with pentiles, which were stones prisoners made at the penitentiary that used to be in South Capitol,” Knouse says. Featuring white, sloping columns and colorfully shingled gables, these Craftsman bungalows often sit behind adobe or cobblestone fences and come with spacious backyard patios and gardens; prices range from $795,000 for three-bedrooms on smaller lots to $1.6 million for three-bedrooms with over a quarter-acre. Santa Fe-style homes are also common here, featuring tan stucco exteriors, flat roofs, and ornamental vigas; most are from the 1880s to 1920s, although a scarce few were built as recently as the 2000s. Prices start at $498,000 for one-bedrooms tucked on tiny gravel lots to $2 million for three-bedrooms with manicured lots just under an acre. Local kids can start at Wood Gormley Elementary, which earns an A-minus from Niche and became a Blue Ribbon Distinguished School in 2017. They can continue to C-minus-rated Milagro Middle, which offers advanced courses in mathematics in addition to classes for Native Spanish speakers. Santa Fe High earns an A-minus, and its highly active school paper “The Demon Tattler” posts daily videos on the happenings of the school. Touching Don Gaspar’s southern edge, Harvey Cornell Rose Park’s namesake rose garden invites locals to walk among small fountains and manicured rose bushes that bloom with red, yellow, pink, orange and white petals. The garden leads to a flat green field, shaded with cottonwood and coniferous trees. Less than a mile east in Old Santa Fe Trail, the 3-acre Amelia White Park features a rose garden of its own in its central plaza. A paved path shaded by cottonwood trees wraps around the rest of the park. “I used to live right across the street from this park, and it was always the best place to bring your dogs on a walk,” Cochran says. On the corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and Paseo De Peralta, food trucks sit semi-permanently on a gravel parking lot locals call “Food Truck Park.” Craft Donuts and Coffee here makes donuts that are both cakey and fluffy and come in an array of creative flavors; the S’mores donut is topped off with a roasted marshmallow, and the Homer’s pink glaze and rainbow sprinkles make it look like it came out of “The Simpsons.” Fusion Tacos Downtown pairs hardshell beef tacos with ramen bowls steeped in spicy birria broth. Across the street in Historic Santa Fe, Kaune’s Market has been the go-to spot for groceries in South Capitol since 1896; on top of offering organic grocery options, Kaune’s Market is beloved for its pre-made salads. Galisteo Street and Don Gaspar Avenue are the neighborhood’s main thoroughfares, leading commuters to Downtown Santa Fe less than a mile northwest and Interstate 25 over 2 miles south. Santa Fe Trails buses make stops along these roadways, and Gaspar Avenue is also lined with bike lanes. The Santa Fe Indian Hospital is 3 miles away and the Santa Fe International Airport is 15 miles from the neighborhood. In Don Gaspar’s southern end, a handful of museums sit on the historic Armory Campus. The Santa Fe Children’s Museum invites local kids to explore the arts and sciences with interactive exhibits and weekly events, and the New Mexico Military Museum across the street features a transport yard dotted with tanks and other National Guard vehicles. The Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe also regularly holds writing masterclasses, screenings of classic films and art galleries. Just south of the Armory Campus, churches and temples line Barcelona Road. On top of weekly services, the Temple Beth Shalom hosts monthly book club meetings, and the Holy Trinity Orthodox Christian Church brings its parish on occasional excursions like camping trips in nearby canyons. The Don Gaspar Historic District is bounded by Old Santa Fe Trail to the east, West Houghton Street to the south, Don Cubero to the west, and Paseo de Peralta to the north. Homeowners within these boundaries must submit a Historic Districts Application Form to the City of Santa Fe Historic Preservation Division if they wish to modify their homes.

Bordered north by the Santa Fe River and west by Santa Fe Plaza, Historic Santa Fe is the center of the City Different’s cultural scene, with centuries-old homes and a myriad of art galleries. “The Canyon Road Arts District here is one of the top art districts in the country, and if you go to where Canyon Road meets Acequia Madre, there’s a house Billy the Kid used to hide out in. That’s the kind of history you find here,” says Paige Cochran, a Santa Fe local and Associate Broker with Keller Williams Realty. Despite its vibrant art scene and the tourist traffic it draws, Historic Santa Fe maintains a quiet, upscale suburban feel, with private single-family homes and walkable, tree-shaded streets. Historic Santa Fe’s narrow residential streets are lined with traditional Santa Fe-style homes that date from the 1860s to 1940s, set behind adobe and ocotillo fencing and lush gardens; most gardens include mature cottonwood trees, which fill the air with flurries of white tufts. These historic homes include Territorial-style details like turquoise French doors and picture windows, as well as Pueblo-style features like tan stucco exteriors, vigas and flat roofs. “There’s a real sense of artistic and historical integrity here; people want to keep the flat roofs even if they’re not the best for when it snows,” says Lise Knouse, a Santa Fe local and Broker Owner with Keller Williams. Two-bedroom homes on 3,000-square-foot lots start at $1.2 million, while five-bedroom homes on major thoroughfare Canyon Road can exceed $3 million. Condos can also be found in Historic Santa Fe; prices start at $620,000 for a one-bedroom attached townhouse condo and go up to $1.5 million for a two-bedroom detached version. Historic Santa Fe is a historic district, so renovating properties requires approval from the City of Santa Fe’s Historic Preservation Division. “It can be hard to even get a window replaced here, but it’s because the city values its historic character that much,” says Emily Medvec, an experienced Associate Broker with EXP Realty and a Santa Fe local. Home to over 80 galleries, Canyon Road boasts the highest concentration of galleries in the country, and although this makes it a popular tourist destination, locals also enjoy browsing, purchasing and making art here. “A lot of artists moved here in the 1800s to be treated for tuberculosis, and they felt so inspired by Santa Fe they never left,” Knouse says. Galleries range from the Morning Star Gallery, with its extensive collection of Native American pottery and jewelry, to Ventana Fine Art, which sells modern paintings and sculptures from around the world. During the Historic Canyon Road Paint and Sculpt Out in October, dozens of artists flood the street to create their own paintings and sculptures, with an audience of onlookers. Some of Santa Fe’s most popular and historic restaurants are also scattered along Canyon Road. “I used to travel all over of the world, and I can say that Santa Fe has one of the best food scenes anywhere, hands down,” says Mark Rochester, a Broker with Berkshire Hathaway Homeservice who was born and raised in the city. “Geronimo is a great example of what you can get here because they never make a bad meal.” Set in an 18th-century hacienda, the fine-dining Geronimo blends New Mexican fare with global cuisines in dishes like hot chile-covered prawns with rice cakes. The Teahouse down the street serves purple ume waffles and rare oolong teas in its tranquil fruit orchard. “We’ve got apricots, apples, pears and cherries that you can pluck right from the tree,” says Miki Ponca-Montoya, the Teahouse’s barista. El Farol across the road has been serving New Mexican tapas since 1835. Just off Canyon Road on the Old Santa Fe Trail, Kaune’s Neighborhood Market has been the neighborhood go-to for groceries since 1896, with organic produce and ready-made meals. The closest major greenspace is Patrick Smith Park, less than a mile east on Canyon Road and stretching nearly 2 acres along the Santa Fe River; features here include basketball courts, a playground, open lawns and barbecue pits. The park is named after the first minister of the Cristo Rey Ortiz Church, which sits next door and was one of the country's largest adobe structures when it opened in 1940. Nearly 3 miles east, the 135-acre Randall Davey Audubon Center and Sanctuary is the city’s sole nature center. “This is a lovely place, which preserves what Santa Fe’s nature must have been like thousands of years ago,” Cochran says. The nature garden here attracts over 190 bird species, including the juniper titmouse and downy woodpecker. The Allan Downey Museum is also here and features the works and furniture of the famous Santa Fe artist. The annual Christmas Eve Farolito Walk brings thousands of visitors to Canyon Road for holiday festivities. Farolitos — small paper lanterns — and string lights are hung from every tree and storefront along Canyon Road, casting the arts district in a warm amber glow. “It doesn’t feel like the holidays here until the farolitos are up,” Cochran says. Jazz bands play classic Christmas carols, the delicious aroma of roasting pinecones fills the air, and galleries and coffeehouses invite people into the warm indoors for hot chocolate and eggnog. Named for the 400-year-old acequia that still carries water past its campus, Acequia Madre Elementary earns a B-plus from Niche and became a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 2022. Milagro Middle receives a C-minus and offers courses for native Spanish speakers. Opened in 1899, Santa Fe High is the oldest high school in the city and offers specialized programs for engineering, JROTC and the culinary arts. Historic Santa Fe sits over 3 miles from Interstate 25, but Acequia Madre, Canyon Road and Alameda Street all lead to Downtown Santa Fe immediately west. Cyclists share these sharrows (roads marked with bicycle signs) with cars, and broad sidewalks and clearly marked crosswalks make Historic Santa Fe pedestrian friendly. Santa Fe Trails buses make stops along Alameda Street, and although Canyon Road’s art galleries and parking lots are often busy with tourists, the road itself experiences little automobile traffic. CHRISTUS Saint Vincent Regional Hospital is about 3 miles southeast, and the Santa Fe Regional Airport is about 15 miles west.