Santa Fe is laced with hiking trails, particularly on the outskirts of the historic downtown. It’s less well endowed with walking trails — paths that require no special shoes, walking sticks, or other gear. The best of the downtown routes is the Santa Fe River Trail. It quickly became our go-to light exercise route. The paved sidewalk along Alameda Street skirts the downtown in favor of scenic plantings of flowering trees and public art installations along the riverbanks. Much of the route includes a packed-dirt path along the opposite bank, with periodic bridges so you can switch back and forth.
Another reason it became one of our favorites is the proximity to the Inn and Spa at Loretto (211 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe; 505-888-5331; hotelloretto.com) right across East Alameda Street. The inn’s Luminaria restaurant happens to serve one of our favorite green chile cheeseburgers. Not just ours — it was the People’s Choice in a citywide competition. The burger starts with a plump half-pound of ground Angus beef on a bun spread with cilantro-lime aioli. That’s topped with a nice helping of chopped green chile, melted white cheddar, thick strips of candied red chile bacon, and a fan of fresh avocado slices. This marvel of handheld cuisine is a menu staple in the inn’s Luminaria restaurant.
Getting more casual in The Living Room
But we also caught on that a downsized sliders version is often available on the 4-6 p.m. happy hour menu at The Living Room (right), as the inn insists on calling its lounge. We discovered that if we timed our exercise right, we could cool down and wet our whistles afterward at happy hour prices. That also gave us a chance to enjoy the artistry of sculptor and painter Gregory Lomayesva. The Hopi artist, who lives and works in Santa Fe, created the carved and painted ceiling in the spacious lounge. It’s one of the Heritage Hotels touches that make the chain’s lodgings very specific to a place. Be sure to ride the elevators to see even more of his artistry on the walls inside.
Meanwhile, you can do as we did — sit back in the lounge sipping wine and nibbling off the ‶Bites″ menu while admiring the art overhead. In addition to the green chile cheeseburger sliders, the menu often includes green chile arancini balls — a perfect blend of crunchy exterior, soft interior, soothing creaminess, and green chile bite.