The Santa Fe Rail Trail is a multi-use trail, part of the trail system in the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The trail begins at the Santa Fe Depot, in the Railyard arts district, and ends at U.S. Route 285, near

Lamy, New Mexico Lamy is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, south of the city of Santa Fe. The community was named for Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, and lies within the ''Bishop John Lamy Spanish Land Grant'', which ...

and the Lamy station. An example of

Rails with trails Rails with trails (RWT) are a small subset of rail trails in which a railway right-of-way remains in use by trains yet also has a parallel recreational trail. Hundreds of kilometers of RWTs exist in Canada, Europe, the United States, and Wester ...

, it parallels the

New Mexico Rail Runner Express The New Mexico Rail Runner Express ( AAR reporting mark NMRX) is a commuter rail system serving the metropolitan areas of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is administered by the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) and the R ...

tracks to roughly

I-25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

, where it then continues along the

Santa Fe Southern Railway The Santa Fe Southern Railway is a short line railroad in New Mexico, United States. In addition to carrying freight on occasion, it also operates as a tourist railroad called Sky Railway that carries passengers between Lamy and Santa Fe: a ...

. The Santa Fe Rail trail is 15 miles long, is asphalted for the first 3.5 miles, and improved natural surface for 11.5 miles. The last few miles between

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

and US-285 is unimproved natural surface.

Trailheads, crossings and access

The Santa Fe Rail Trail can be accessed via trailheads, connecting trails, and intersecting roadways in Santa Fe and

. The

has stops on the trail at the Santa Fe Depot, South Capitol station, and

Zia Road station Zia Road is a station on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter rail line, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The station is the first Rail Runner stop to be constructed on private land. Officials had scheduled it to open in August 2011, follow ...

. Major connecting trails are the Arroyo de los Chamisos Trail (paved), the

Spur Trail The Spur Trail is a paved walking trail in San Mateo County, California, south of San Francisco. It is located in Millbrae on Spur Property parkland. The pathway consists of two disjointed sections; one is located to the west of Taylor Middle Sc ...

(improved natural surface), and

Galisteo Basin The Galisteo Basin is a surface basin and a closely related groundwater basin in north-central New Mexico. Its primary watercourse is the Galisteo River or Galisteo Creek, a perennial stream, for part of its course, that flows from the ea ...

trail system.

Gail Ryba Trail

Small asphalted branch trail that connects the Rail Trail to shopping areas, neighborhoods, and a medical center. The Gail Ryba Trail starts at Saint Michaels near the Hospital, joins the rail trail thru an underpass at Saint Francis Drive, and ends at West Zia Road. Approximately 1 mile long.

Spur Trail

Improved natural surface trail that branches from the rail trail to connect to the Santa Fe Community College. The Spur Trail trailhead is located at the intersection of Richards Avenue and Avenida del Sur ( ). Approximately 3 miles long.

References

{{reflist

External links

City of Santa Fe - Trails & Maps

Santa Fe Conservation Trust

SANTA FE METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION

in the ''

Santa Fe New Mexican ''The Santa Fe New Mexican'' or simply ''The New Mexican'' is a daily newspaper published in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Dubbed "the West's oldest newspaper," its first issue was printed on November 28, 1849. Background The downtown offices for '' ...

'' category:rails with trails category:rail trails in New Mexico category:hiking trails in Santa Fe County, New Mexico category:Santa Fe, New Mexico