Dakota Mace, DAHODIYINII--SACRED PLACES, SITE SANTA FE, Installation image, 2025, photo by Brad Trone
Springtime, when the weather has warmed but the summer festival season (with its attendant crowds) has not yet begun, is an ideal time to visit this perennially sunny, chile-obsessed Southwestern city. Despite a population of only about 90,000, Santa Fe supports an outsize cultural scene, with more galleries, museums, theaters and arts institutions than anyone can hope to explore over a single weekend. The mix of cultural influences is evident everywhere, from the Spanish Pueblo architecture to the breadth of fine art that encompasses contemporary Native American works, the Modernist paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe and the original experiential Meow Wolf installation. Add to that hundreds of miles of hiking trails in the surrounding mountains, a new contemporary art destination in the revitalized Railyard district, a craft-beer boom and the distinctive regional cuisine that demands visitors all learn their preference for New Mexican chiles: red, green or, if you want a little of both, Christmas?
