The best time to visit Santa Fe

15.01.2025 - 11:53 / lonelyplanet.com

Jan 14, 2025 • 5 min read

Santa Fe is one of those places that experiences all four seasons as if they were crafted with a painter’s brush. There is no bad time to visit – just different color palettes. At an altitude of 7000ft, winters are white but summers are hot – not hellishly hot – making this the perfect get-up-and-go destination all year round.

Here’s a guide to decide which time of year is best for your trip to Santa Fe.

Come in May when it’s getting toasty in the sun in Santa Fe, but the breeze is cool, making it a pleasant time to get out and walk the winding one-way roads of the Historic Plaza, popping into shops and restaurants without too much hustle and bustle.

In June the flowers are blooming in the immaculate gallery gardens along Canyon Road; the breeze tinkles through the aspen leaves; sunscreen disappears off the Five and Dime shelves; and the locals are grumbling about parking and out-of-towners… tourist season is here!  If you want to catch a rodeo now's your chance at the Rodeo de Santa Fe.

Beginning in July and ending in September, the New Mexico monsoon season makes this time of year the most enchanting of them all. Wildflowers are blooming and the high summer heat is breaking with afternoon showers that cool off the day and create epic cloud formations and dramatic sunsets. Taking time out to sip a margarita on the patio and watch the rainfall, sometimes while the sun is still shining, will make you feel as if you’ve fallen into one of the thousands of paintings that fill the plaza galleries.

First, July and August are art market season and one of the most exciting times to visit Santa Fe for those who like a full schedule of outings without having to travel around an unfamiliar place. The belle of the ball is the Santa Fe Indian Market, which draws around 150,000 visitors every year to immerse themselves in the largest Indigenous art market in the world, with a weekend packed with events including a fashion show and gala. Other major Santa Fe events to look out for include the Folk Art Market, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Wine Festival, and in August the Burning of Zozobra.

This is also the time of year when you'll see spikes in lodging prices and even a scarcity of accommodations during key events. To get the best places to sleep, booking accommodations six to twelve months ahead of a trip to Santa Fe in summer is advised. 

September brings with it the Santa Fe fiestas (Fiesta De Santa Fe, Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta) and ripens into a magical month with crisper days and the changing of the aspen leaves in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that overlook Santa Fe.

Trips into the mountain for leaf-viewing parties are something of a local tradition.