Santa Fe is one of those places that experiences all four seasons as if they were crafted with a painter’s brush. There is no bad time to visit – just different color palettes. At an altitude of 7000ft, winters are white but summers are hot – not hellishly hot – making this the perfect get-up-and-go destination all year round.
Here’s a guide to decide which time of year is best for your trip to Santa Fe.
May and June is the best time for sunshine
Come in May when it’s getting toasty in the sun in Santa Fe, but the breeze is cool, making it a pleasant time to get out and walk the winding one-way roads of the Historic Plaza, popping into shops and restaurants without too much hustle and bustle.
In June the flowers are blooming in the immaculate gallery gardens along Canyon Road; the breeze tinkles through the aspen leaves; sunscreen disappears off the Five and Dime shelves; and the locals are grumbling about parking and out-of-towners… tourist season is here! If you want to catch a rodeo now’s your chance at the Rodeo de Santa Fe.
July to September is best for art, culture and fiestas
Beginning in July and ending in September, the New Mexico monsoon season makes this time of year the most enchanting of them all. Wildflowers are blooming and the high summer heat is breaking with afternoon showers that cool off the day and create epic cloud formations and dramatic sunsets. Taking time out to sip a margarita on the patio and watch the rainfall, sometimes while the sun is still shining, will make you feel as if you’ve fallen into one of the thousands of paintings that fill the plaza galleries.
First, July and August are art market season and one of the most exciting times to visit Santa Fe for those who like a full schedule of outings without having to travel around an unfamiliar place. The belle of the ball is the Santa Fe Indian Market, which draws around 150,000 visitors every year to immerse themselves in the largest Indigenous art market in the world, with a weekend packed with events including a fashion show and gala. Other major Santa Fe events to look out for include the Folk Art Market, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Wine Festival, and in August the Burning of Zozobra.
This is also the time of year when you’ll see spikes in lodging prices and even a scarcity of accommodations during key events. To get the best places to sleep, booking accommodations six to twelve months ahead of a trip to Santa Fe in summer is advised.
September brings with it the Santa Fe fiestas (Fiesta De Santa Fe, Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta) and ripens into a magical month with crisper days and the changing of the aspen leaves in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that overlook Santa Fe.
Trips into the mountain for leaf-viewing parties are something of a local tradition. This time of year you will smell roasting chile everywhere you go as green chile gets harvested from the fields in Southern New Mexico and hauled up in trucks overflowing with gunnysacks of the iconic state food.
October to December is best for the poet at heart
Mid-October sees the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in neighboring Albuquerque, which results in a spike in tourists day-tripping to Santa Fe. Afterward things start to feel a bit like the beginning of hibernation until a spike in wintertime activity through December in Santa Fe.
Fast forward to December for a romantic walk down snow-dusted adobe corridors, magical luminaria-lined buildings (Canyon Road Farolito Walk), skiing, and winter art markets. This is arguably one of the most memorable times to visit Santa Fe and ideal for those who like cooler weather, fewer tourists and more reasonable lodging. This is also a great time of year for photography; getting cozy around a piñon fire; and taking in the Christmas spirit with plenty of pageantry, lights and Pueblo dances in the surrounding communities.
January to April give you the best bang for your buck
January brings the lull of long nights and lazy mornings until Memorial Day, when the temperatures start to stabilize and spring bulbs poke their heads up along the legendary Canyon Road. Winter is the time for temperatures in the teens and snow falling, but the sun is still out for a wintery vibe that isn’t gloomy. It’s the ideal time to visit if you are interested in skiing or snowboarding.
It is also an excellent time of year for budget travel in Santa Fe and to experience a taste of what makes this place so prominent in the mystique of the West. The chile is just as hot, and the sunsets just as lovely as during peak tourism season, but with lower costs and less congestion on the donkey trails (turned paved roads) around the historic downtown.
By March you’ll feel that winter is over (or it will be when that last freak snowstorm hits). Ski season has a last hurrah before the melt-off, and a few families looking to culture their young ones usually forgo Cancun and show up in the City of Holy Faith for spring break.
April is the calm before the storm as the hospitality industry readies itself for the coming tourist season. For those interested in witnessing, or partaking in, a truly unique experience, Holy Week in Northern New Mexico is steeped in Old World traditions. Enjoy Easter Mass in any of the historic churches, including San Miguel Chapel, the oldest church in the United States, built in 1610.
