Santa Fe Canyon Preserve

Santa Fe Canyon News

• Download the audio tour before you visit and make your phone your personal tour guide. You can also take the tour remotely!
• Explore the preserve via Google Trekker!
• USA Today readers chose Santa Fe as the country’s #1 outdoor destination
• Sunset magazine highlighted our preserve trail and surrounding Dale Ball system as a top hike in the West.

Visit the Preserve

Take a walk along the 1.5-mile interpretive loop trail, which details the colorful history and fragile ecology of the place. You might even catch sight of one of the area's resident beavers! Restoration efforts at the preserve have made the habitat enticing to these wood-gnawing critters. Beavers, along with their dams and lodges, are an increasingly common sight at this urban preserve.

TNC scientists have also been working since 2012 to re-establish the northern leopard frog (Lithobates pipiens) at the preserve.

This 525 acres of open space, only a few miles from Santa Fe's bustling historic Plaza, offers a thriving bosque of cottonwood and willow trees, a pond, the ruins of an historic Victorian-era dam, hiking trails, more than 140 species of birds and the original route of the Santa Fe River. One of the last unspoiled riparian areas along the river, the preserve is nestled in the foothills adjacent to the Santa Fe National Forest. Once here you can see red-wing blackbirds, a beaver lodge, colorful wildflowers and remnants of the city's historic past.

The preserve also serves as a trailhead for the 20-mile Dale Ball Foothill Trail System, a joint effort now being constructed by the city, county, the Foothills Trail Trust and other private landowners.

Pets and bicycles, while welcomed on the Foothill Trails, are not allowed on the preserve trails. Also, large groups of people walking off-trail can quickly damage small plants that take years to become established. For group visits, please contact TNC at 505-988-3867 to get permission to use Santa Fe Canyon Preserve.

Tips for visiting the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve

We’re excited for you to visit the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve (SFCP)! The SFCP has a 1.5 mile hiking loop that is connected to the 25-mile Dale Ball trail system. Here’s a list of things to remember before you go.

1. Make sure to bring plenty of water, supportive footwear, sun protection, and know your surroundings before you set out for your adventure. The hiking loop can be uneven at times, so consider bringing hiking poles.
2. Be sure to stay up to date with New Mexico’s COVID19 regulations.
3. We love dogs! However, dogs are not permitted at the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve. In order to keep the wildlife who call the preserve home feeling safe, we ask that your furry friends sit this one out.
4. If you’re a newer trail user, we recommend you review Leave No Trace Center For Outdoor Ethics’ 7 Principles to enjoying time outdoors.
5. On-street parking is not permitted on Cerro Gordo Road or Upper Canyon Road. If the Cerro Gordo Trailhead parking lot is full, there are two additional trailheads:
   
   • Sierra Del Norte Trailhead: Hyde Park Road (Artist Road/NM 475 to the Santa Fe Ski Basin)
   • Lower Atalaya Trailhead: St. John’s College off of Camino de Cruz Blanca

Have fun out there!

Leveraging Land for People and Nature

Even 1,700 miles away from New Mexico, Jeff Sterba still gets positive feedback about the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve. Why? Because he was president, chair and chief executive officer of Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) when it donated the land, which has become an oasis only two miles from the historic downtown plaza.

In 1881, a stone dam was constructed on the land to capture the flows of the Santa Fe River for the growing community of Santa Fe. In 1893 and 1894 a larger earthen dam was built on the Santa Fe River, but in 1994 the City and the Office of the State Engineer found the dam compromised with a crack in it and the reservoir was drained and the earthen dam was removed.

Sterba and his team contemplated ways they could make the most of this property. A natural area topped the list. The idea originally came from Marc Christensen, who was serving on The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico’s Board of Trustees and at the time was a PNM executive. The donation also served as a commemoration of Ben Montoya’s retirement from PNM in 2000.

The area had been closed to the public for decades. That was about to change.

Conservation Success

In 2000, PNM donated the 190 acres of open space to The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico.

“We had a dream to preserve and restore this place so wildlife and birds could thrive, and to provide a place where people could escape in the beauty,” said Terry Sullivan, TNC’s state director of New Mexico.

Director of Land Protection and Stewardship—and Preserve Manager—Bob Findling has been pursuing that dream ever since. New trails have been built and the rare northern leopard frog has been reintroduced. Also, beaver recolonization has transformed the Preserve into one of the most popular places where 30,000 people—both local and visiting people—go for inspiration and healing.

Since 2000, TNC has improved the preserve with these notable highlights:

• Additional acreage provided by local supporters. Today, the preserve now includes 525 acres.
  
• Jump-started cottonwood tree growth by planting cuttings from already established trees. Three kinds of cottonwoods now thrive in the preserve.
  
• Beaver arrived with the addition of cottonwoods. Their arrival dramatically transformed the riverside habitat, bringing in over 198 species of birds, like red winged blackbirds, cooper hawks and cranes.
• Removal of invasive plants such as Siberian elm and Russian olive left more water in the river and enabled native plants to flourish.
• Restoration of the original river channel enabled the river to flow through its natural channel.

“TNC is grateful for the land donation from PNM and other incredible local supporters,” adds Bob Findling, director of land protection and stewardship. “We can now see deer, bear and beaver, and watch hundreds of species of birds.  The preserve plays a valuable role in providing access to the outdoors and has provided an important refuge, which has dramatically improved our quality of life in a time when we need it most.”

Recharged by Nature

It makes sense that Sterba embraced the idea of creating a preserve. He’s had a love of nature since his youth when his family would backpack and camp in the Jemez Mountains and Gila Wilderness. As an adult he logged dozens of miles on the hiking trails, floated the Rio Grande and skied down the mountains in Taos. No matter what you’re doing outdoors, he says, nature makes life better.  

During his tenure at PNM, life was busy and hectic. From executive meetings, industry challenges and tough decisions, he could recharge in nature by way of fly-fishing.

“I love fly-fishing because it’s technical and you’re always learning,” Sterba said. “I would escape to the streams and rivers of northern NM, usually by myself and recharge. That time alone in nature helped me manage life’s stressors. And it introduced me to the magical work of TNC when, in the early 1980s I fished the Silver Creek Preserve in Idaho, which TNC had only recently taken over and did an unbelievable property rehabilitation.”

Coping in a Crisis

Now living on a farm outside Charlottesville, Virginia, Sterba has been spending time in its forests filled with hardwood trees, birds and wildlife. This is where he finds calm and tranquility during the pandemic. His lucky dogs Otis and Ellie walk about 50 miles with him every week spotting wildlife and looking for burls of maple, hickory or oak for wood burning.

“No one could have imagined this would happen,” Sterba said. “For me, spending time outside has been my respite, my inspiration.”

Sterba is grateful to TNC: “The Nature Conservancy did a wonderful job protecting and beautifying the Santa Fe Canyon area and making it accessible to all. It’s a magical place.”

Find Your Inspiration

Whether you explore the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve, the forests in Virginia or anywhere in between, nature’s benefits are bountiful. Science confirms being outdoors make you happier, healthier and more creative. We look forward to seeing you on the trails! 

Keystone Species Sponsor

Mr. Ralph L. Brutsche (land donation)
PNM
Mary Anne and Al Sanborn in memory of daughter Jenny

Wetland Habitat Sponsor

Albertsons | Market Street
Anonymous, in honor of Julia Peters
Bank of America
Frost Foundation
Eugene and Jane Petchesky Fund
Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Foundation
Mrs. Julia A. Mitchell
Dr. Rae S. Ragland
State of New Mexico, Economic Development Department, Outdoor Recreation Division
Sulica Fund

Beaver Dam Sponsors

Mr. Frank Balaam
The Buckman Family Fund
Ms. Carol Burt and Mr. Ray Hilliard
Mr. Christopher Conover
Fidelity Charitable
Connie Girard-diCarlo
Julie Melton, in memory of Colin Worth

Pollinator Sponsors

The Angelica Foundation
Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund
Mr. Andrew D. Beckerman
Edison C. Buchanan
Ms. Virginia and Mr. Richard Ellenberg
Georgia R. and Keely J. Bihr
Mary Ray Cate
Joe Colvin
Mr. R. Kennedy Davis
Enterprise Bank
Marc Geller and Beth Beloff
Lucy M. and Thomas C. Higgins
Mr. George Johnson
Mr. Roy Johnson
Mr. Duane Lang
Ann Lindner Morrison
Mrs. Susan W. Nevin
Ms. Emily Ross in honor of Bob Ross
Santa Fe Garden Club, Inc.
Mr. Jon Weaver
Ms. Linda C. Wolcott

Art Sale Supports Renovations at World-Class Nature Preserve

Nature and art are intrinsically connected.

“Nature—at its core—is the basis for all art,” explains Kay Khan, a textiles artist represented by Santa Fe’s Patina Gallery. “The structure of nature teaches us how to build and create. The colors of nature teach us how to paint.”

This is the foundation on which The Nature Conservancy and Santa Fe’s Patina Gallery have built three creative fundraising campaigns over the last ten years in New Mexico. The approach for Earth Day 2022 is rare, colorful and inspirational.

Before the art pack is sold on April 22 (Earth Day), TNC sat down with the artist, Kay Khan, and gallery owner, Ivan Barnett.

The backpack you designed pops with color. Talk about your process.

Kay Khan: It was important to me to highlight the wildflowers that I’d easily be able to see during different warm seasons. I used mostly silks in the project. The first flower I decided to stitch was the vividly colorful scarlet globemallow, commonly known as “Cowboy’s Delight,” which has a scarlet-orange blossom with sage green leaves. To complement the intensity of those blossoms, I also stitched two other vividly colorful favorites: the larkspur and the purple aster.

Why did you want to engage in this collaboration?

Kay Khan: The Nature Conservancy’s mission to protect and preserve our environment is of vital importance. I wanted to contribute in any way I could.

Ivan Barnett: Land preservation is not only aligned with our own personal values but with our artists as well. Art springs from strong emotional response to natural beauty so, I and Patina as a whole, commit to preserving that beauty.

Patina and TNC first collaborated for the first Picnic for the Planet in 2013 when Barnett selected a group of artists with Peterborough baskets to turn into works of art, which were raffled at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market.

The following year, a dozen artists in Santa Fe created an exhibition of baskets at the gallery, hosted school groups for the exhibition, and hosted an auction of the baskets, which generated funding for TNC.

In 2015, Barnett recruited world-renowned children’s book author and illustrator, Tomie de Paola, to create a new series of works inspired by the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve, which were featured in a gallery exhibition and generated 20% of sales to support stewardship at the preserve.

Update: Special thanks to Donna Wilhelm for purchasing the art pack! TNC got the scoop on her supporting motivation:

What inspired you to purchase this beautiful one-of-a-kind art pack?

As a collector of Kay Khan’s fabric jewelry pieces from Patina Gallery, I couldn’t resist supporting both The Nature Conservancy and Kay’s innovative creation of a gorgeous art pack that serves both a philanthropic purpose and versatile use to the fortunate owner—me!

The artist of this pack, Kay Khan, was inspired by the flora at the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve. How are you inspired by nature?

Love of nature began with my childhood adventures on my family’s rambling Connecticut farm, where the allure of changing seasons astonished and never left me. My philanthropic focus includes conservation of our world’s natural resources and habitats, detailed further in my memoir, A Life of My Own. All net sales support my charitable intent, and the stories explore how life’s journeys have impacted the author and may connect with the reader.

What types of adventures do you plan to take with your new art pack?

The art pack’s adaptability means it will travel wherever I venture—to explore the natural habitats of Santa Fe, my second home; or travel in the U.S. to study philanthropic issues and abroad for plein air painting and cultural enrichment. Wherever I carry the distinctive art pack, I expect it will attract attention from admirers of  beauty combined with function.