Things To Do in Santa Fe, NM

The best restaurants and bars in Santa Fe and pet-friendly resorts

While on a cross country road trip, with my dog, my best friend and a trailer in tow (long story), I found myself in the beautiful city of Santa Fe in early October. What we initially planned to be a day trip, turned into a weekend full of exploring, eating and more eating.

Santa Fe, for the most part, was not as dog-friendly as other cities when it comes to restaurants. Luckily for us, Zoomies Dog Boarding came to the rescue. Their reasonable prices and friendly employees, including the owner, Andrew, made me feel relaxed about leaving my pup there for a few hours during the day, while we explored the town.

Our first stop (probably our favorite because we returned again the next day) was The Shed restaurant. We started with their queso (of course) and margaritas (The Zozorita, Mezcal and the classic.) My friend tried their Shed Sangria which was also refreshing for a warm Santa Fe day. For entrees, we tried almost everything on the menu. We had their green and red pozole and we had their green and red tamales.

After the big meals, we decided to walk it off and explore the Santa Fe Plaza. As first-timers to the area, we were mesmerized by the beauty of the city and felt almost like we were transported to a different time. There is an endless amount of quaint shops, restaurants and bars.

The next morning, we wanted to do something with my dog, Jax. We hit up the Chamisa Trails in the Santa Fe National Forest. From someone who has explored trails in Idaho, Washington, North Carolina and Texas, I would definitely rate this trail as moderate because of its multiple, steep inclines. We brought plenty of water but decided not to complete the entire trail. We went up as high as we wanted, took photos then trekked down.

Next, we dropped Jax off at Zoomies again and headed to explore some local street pottery shops. We stumbled upon Camino Real Imports on Cerrillos Rd. You could easily be here for hours. The store is stocked with a variety of handmade outdoor furniture, pots, glasses, jewelry and other unique art pieces. The workers were extremely helpful but not overbearing – they are also bilingual which is a huge plus.

We ended the trip at The Shed, again. This time around we opted for more margaritas, obviously. We had the enchiladas verdes (highly recommend) and we split their flan for dessert.

We are definitely going to be back. And we will probably, also, eat at The Shed… again.