Hiking Raven’s Ridge Trail in Santa Fe4 min read
Looking to get out and hike the enchanting trails of New Mexico this year? You’re in the right spot.
Raven’s Ridge is easily one of the best trails to breathe that fresh mountain air and see some truly spectacular scenery. Here’s what you need to know before hiking Raven’s Ridge in Santa Fe!
Raven’s Ridge Hike Overview
Hiking the Raven’s Ridge trail is no easy feat. This is a serious hike that requires excellent conditioning and willpower. Alongside these things, be extremely cautious of the weather as this high altitude trail can be very dangerous if a storm quickly blows in.
Length: 5.4 miles
Difficulty: Hard
Elevation Gain: 2,385 ft
Getting to Raven’s Ridge Trailhead
So where can you find the Raven’s Ridge trailhead?
The trail is apart of the Santa Fe National Forest and can be accessed by driving up highway 475 to the Ski Santa Fe parking lot. And for the penny pinchers out there, parking is FREE!
The drive up from town will take about 30 minutes and is one of the most spectacular things to do in Santa Fe!
The trailhead is for the Winsor Trail which will later connect you to the ravens ridge.
Connecting to Ravens Ridge
The first part of the hike really isn’t too hard but it will definitely suck your air if you aren’t accustomed to high altitude hikes. Endure a few switchbacks and some incline to get the hike started until you eventually reach the junction gate where you connect to Raven’s Ridge.
Fenceline to Amazing Viewpoint
This is probably the easiest part of the hike as you follow a fenceline for .7 miles that leads to an incredible viewpoint for a nice resting point. As amazing as this viewpoint is, it only gets better (and harder).
Viewpoint and On
This is when the hike really starts to turn on for the worse. Incline starts to become dramatic and seemingly never ends. You will eventually continue on for some hard pushes that flatten out and then on to more hard pushes.
Summiting the Ridge
After the suffer fest you will surely be ecstatic you summited this peak. The views are sensational and photos do not do it justice. For the motivated and weather permitting hikers, you can link up more peaks or simply choose to bask in the enchanting views.
There are a plethora of ways to explore once you have summited but the main peaks you can access are Deception Peak and Lake Peak. If anything, I would recommend checking out Deception Peak since you are already up there.
Explore More of Santa Fe’s Best
Santa Fe is full of other amazing things to experience this year. Depending on where your trip and interests are leaning, use these helpful local guides to maximize your trip today!
Can’t Miss New Mexican Restaurants in Santa Fe