Here is a suggestion for a casual walk or bike ride that takes you off the beaten path and offers some great discoveries on Santa Fe's east side. It is 7 miles round trip. 2.5 hours walking time. 50 minutes biking time. But you will surely want to stop along the way. Make this your entire morning or afternoon.
From Casa de Tres Lunas, travel south on Paseo de Peralta to Acequia Madre. Here, you will find the Nedra Matucci Gallery. Turn east on Acequia Madre. Acequia Madre means "Mother Ditch" and it follows the historic main ditch or "acequia" that diverted water from the Santa Fe River to the neighborhood farms. Water still flows in the acequia.
You will reach Garcia Street and a small commercial building that includes two local favorites. Browse books at Garcia Street Books and enjoy a cappuccino at Downtown Subscription.
Continue your journey east along the acequia. Look for the giant redwood tree located down one of the lanes. It is the only one of its kind in the neighborhood. Can you spot it?
Acequia Madre will eventually merge at Canyon Road and Patrick Smith Park. The Santa Fe River borders the north side. Continue east. Canyon Road will end at Camino Cabra. Turn right and go one block to the intersection of Camino Cabra and Upper Canyon Road. Here, can visit the site of the first hydroelectric power plant in Santa Fe, built in 1895. It is now a historic site and park.
Continue up Upper Canyon Road. Where Upper Canyon Road meets Cerro Gordo, you will reach the the last bit of Canyon Road ending at the Randall Davey House and the Randall Davey Audubon Center and Sanctuary. Travel back to Cerro Gordo and you will find the trailhead to the South Dale Ball Trails. You will be exhausted, so be to come back another day.
