Santa Fe Attractions

At the "Ranch of the Swallows" outdoor living history museum, you can tour restored buildings from the 1700s, such as a flour mill, dye shed and ranch store. Volunteers in period dress (a la Colonial Williamsburg), show visitors how ranch residents in the Spanish Colonial times lived, grinding corn, tooling leather and forging metal at the various exhibits. Cost for a self-guided tour is $5 for adults, $4 for teens and seniors, and $2 ages 5 to 12. Special American Girl tours, featuring Josefina, are held in the summer months.

Even young children will be engaged by Georgia O'Keeffe's brightly colored abstract images of flowers, rocks, shells, bones and plants - as well as her New York City skylines. This museum has more than 3,000 pieces of her art, so strongly influenced by what she saw and experienced in northern New Mexico. Ask the admissions staff to borrow the book, "My Name is Georgia," to read to young children and start discussions about the art. Tweens and teens can take the $5 audio tour. Docents offer free tours daily at 10:30 a.m. Cost: $8 adults, free for youth under 18.

Filled with more than 10,000 pieces of folk art from all over the world, the Museum of International Folk Art houses the world's largest collection of ethnic crafts from hundreds of cultures, including dolls, puppets and masks, plus textiles, ceramics and period dress. A special lounge for families includes books that relate to ongoing and special exhibits, plus hands-on opportunities to play with puppets, building blocks, doll house and a train set. Outside on the Milner Plaza, kids like following a brick labyrinth. Cost: $8 adults ($6 New Mexico residents); free for kids under age 16.

You're in one of the country's art capitals; it only makes sense to let your kids create their own works to take home. At this paint-your-own-pottery studio, choose from pieces that vary in price depending on the size -- from jewelry boxes to doggie bowls to banks. All of the painting supplies are provided. After your kids paint them, staffers fire the pieces in a kiln. If you're not in town long enough to pack the treasures in your suitcases, you can have the pieces shipped to you.

This history museum is located in the oldest continuously occupied building in America, dating back to the early 1600s. The Palace of the Governors chronicles Santa Fe, New Mexico and American Southwest history. Pick up an activity guide at the front desk, which has interactive games that you can do with your kids, such as finding hidden images throughout the exhibits. The vast collection includes everything from early printing-press equipment to soldier helmets from the 16th century to images painted on leather hides -- the earliest known depiction of colonial life in America. Note that construction is underway on the New Mexico History Museum next door to the Palace of the Governors; it is scheduled to open in spring 2009. Free docent tours available. Cost: $8.

This clever museum has dozens of indoor and outdoor exhibits and activities for toddlers to 12-year-olds. Children and adults alike can build with magnets, play in a giant sandbox, sing along to music, splash in water, get creative with art projects and much, much more. Cost: $8 a person ($4 for New Mexico residents)

If you're in town on a Saturday in the warm-weather months (May through October), the place to be is the colorful Santa Fe Farmer's Market at its new Railyard location. Pick up fresh produce from local growers -- organizers ensure that 100 percent of all of the fruits and vegetables sold at the market are from farms and orchards around northern New Mexico. Plus, artisan breads, jams and jellies, other packaged foods, and handmade crafts. Food vendors often offer free samples, plus live music and street performers entertain the kids.

Using GPS coordinates and clues about the local flora and fauna, families are led into the Santa Fe National Forest with a knowledgeable and friendly guide to hunt for shoeboxes filled with trinkets for the kids. This is a wonderful way to explore the outdoors, get some great exercise, learn about hand-held GPS technology, and have fun = what kid doesn't love hunting for treasure? Santa Fe Mountain Adventures, an "adventure concierge" offers this activity, plus many others like fly fishing, llama trekking, horseback riding and snowshoeing, as well as arts/cultural activities, like cooking and music lessons. The company typically books two adventures in one day for visiting families; all transportation, snacks and gratuities are included. Cost for two activities: $135 adults, $115, children ages 6-12; price decreases with more days of activities booked, or if you are staying at a partner hotel.

Train-loving toddlers will especially enjoy riding the rails from downtown Santa Fe to Lamy, a four-hour round trip. This original stretch of tracks through the pretty high-desert scenery is 120 years old, and the vintage 1920s rail cars are authentic. Cost for coach class: $32, adult; $18 ages 3 to 18; free for ages 2 and under.

Ski Santa Fe is set in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, offering a family-friendly experience for beginners and a couple more advanced runs for expert-level parents. Known as one the highest skiing in the states, the ski resort has a base elevation of 10,350 and the Millennium Triple Chairlift takes guests soaring over the countryside to 73 trails of 1,725 feet total. Guests can ski in the terrain park or try up to three-mile runs, narrow chutes or even black diamond trails. A couple cafes and grills are at the resort, offering a mid-mountain break of hot chocolate in front of the fire.

At the Chipmunk Corner, childcare is provided for children from 3 months old. A kids' clubs caters to children up to age 11. Kids are introduced to skiing as early as age 3 with a variety of lessons at Ski Santa Fe. Formal snowboarding classes start children at age 5. The Burton Learn to Ride Center teaches beginners at any age, including adults. Free-heeling workshops are offered to more advanced skiers.

This ancient community, continually inhabited for more than 1,000 years, is about 72 miles from Santa Fe, but worth the trip if you have your own car. About 150 Native Americans live and work in the Pueblo full time, and they open much of their community to the public. Visitors can admire the buildings, made entirely with earth and straw; the roofs are constructed with timbers, small pieces of wood and packed dirt. While many residents sell trinkets and handmade goods from their homes, there are others that are simply private residences, and visitors are asked to respect privacy. You must report your camera and pay a fee upon entrance; it is requested that visitors ask permission to take pictures of tribe members first. Cost: $10, adults; $5, students 13 and over; free under 13.