Explore Outdoor Activities: Parks and Recreation

Santa Fe Recreational Centers

If your first visit to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge is in winter, you may wonder at first what the fuss is all about. Say it’s December, and you arrive around midday. The winter sun slants in from the south and strikes the now bare cottonwood trees, whose gray and white trunks contrast only slightly with the landscape’s dull brown hue. Sealed in your warm car, you note a duck or two in the air and, shortly after officially entering the refuge, come to a marsh the size of a football field. The pond is covered with snow geese, “covered” meaning you can hardly see the water they’re floating on. Still, I can somehow imagine you sitting in your car nonplussed, regarding the scene as just another stroll through a city park, the geese as only so many catchers of tossed bread.

Children need the outdoors in extremely heavy doses. That is my opinion anyway, one that has been supported by many studies showing that a child’s imagination, body, and sense of responsibility, place, and purpose all flourish when he or she is frequently exposed to the unfathomable logic and beauty of nature. Children with outdoor habits are less likely to develop other, less healthy habits. Ask any kid who loves being outside and he’ll tell you I’m right.

Go to the Cimarron River for the fishing, but bring your hiking boots — or vice versa.

With gorgeous hiking and a great chance at seeing bears, deer and elk, even the most focused angler would do well to check out Cimarron Canyon’s trails. And hikers with even a casual interest in fishing may want to wet a line in one of New Mexico’s premier trout waters.

How big is the parks project?

A total of 12 acres includes 10 acres of parkland bordered by Cerrillos Road, Guadalupe Street, and Paseo de Peralta, plus a walk-bike trail system and three additional parks behind the new Farmer’s Market building on Paseo de Peralta, including the Railyard Plaza and two small “pocket parks.”

Who is behind the parks project?

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) in conjunction with the City of Santa Fe. The contractor is Star Construction, Inc. of Albuquerque.

How did it all begin?

In 1995, TPL facilitated the City of Santa Fe’s purchase of the 50-acre Railyard area for the community. Use of the...