100 Places To See With Your Dog: Santa Fe, New Mexico

New Mexico is such a beautiful and diverse state.  You've got artsy Santa Fe to the North, quirky fun Roswell to the South, and culturally rich Albuquerque in between.  New Mexico is nicknamed "Land of Enchantment" because of it's stunning beauty and rich history.  There's so much to see and do in this lovely, dog friendly state!


New Mexico, dubbed " Land of Enchantment", has so much to offer.

Santa Fe is a culturally diverse, artsy town.  It's interesting that the historic place so many artists are attracted to is the capital of the state.  Founded around 1610, it's the oldest state capital in the United States.  The legendary artist Georgia O'Keefe spent Summers in Santa Fe for several years, inspired by the rich, stunning landscape.  Santa Fe has quite a diverse art scene.  It's not all Southwestern, much of it is quite contemporary. 


At the heart of downtown Santa Fe is the Central Plaza area.   This is where both people and dogs congregate to people watch and check out all the fabulous art galleries, restaurants, and shops that surround the Plaza.

Icy and Phoebe take a break from the art galleries & shops to rest and people (& pooch) watch.

There are a lot of beautiful statues on and around the Plaza.  This one is particularly detailed and beautiful.

Here's a closer look at some of the detail on this intricate statue:

One of the most popular attractions in the Plaza area is the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.  This statue of St. Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Animals, stands just outside the church.  It's one of my favorite statues of St. Francis of Assisi, I think because one of the animals he's standing next to is a wolf!  I love wolves, they're so beautiful.  I guess that's why I love Huskies so much, they look so much like wolves!


Statue of St. Francis of Assisi, which stands outside St. Francis Cathedral.

There are quite a few restaurants in Santa Fe that are dog friendly outside on the patio.

Lunch at one of the dog friendly restaurants in Santa Fe

We stayed in an adorable, adobe style hotel.  It was too hot to light this charming adobe fireplace but we loved it! 

Quaint adobe style hotel in dog friendly Santa Fe, NM

The hotel had a cute little outdoor area off the bedroom.  It was just large enough for us to have a cup of coffee and for the dogs to soak up a bit of sun.

One morning we walked the dogs through the plaza area for a potty break.  We kept walking and walking but Phoebe wouldn't do her business.  I figured she didn't have to go yet so I gave up on her pottying.  Suddenly a lady rushed over to me and called out "Your dog is pooping on the (incredibly crowded) sidewalk!"  Apparently, Phoebe decided mid walk through a crowded sidewalk that it was time for the blessed event to occur.  I was mortified!  It wasn't easy trying to pick up after her with a ton of people rushing by.  Oh well, when ya gotta go ya gotta go!

We were delighted to finally find a really nice walking path just outside the Plaza area where we could take the dogs for a long walk away from the crowd. 

There are lots of dog friendly hiking trails all around Santa Fe as well.  The whole area is so gorgeous, it's a great place to go for a hike with your dog.

There's lots to see and do in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  I definitely recommend adding Santa Fe to your list of places to see with your dog!

If you enjoyed this post, we have more great pet friendly destinations and pet travel tips to share with you! 

Let's stay connected, Follow Us on TWITTER!

Have you been to Santa Fe with your dog?  Leave us a comment and share!  We always love hearing from you!