Our Santa Fe Rising Circle Ranch opens in May and so many of you are telling me that you’re going to come early for a workshop or stay later to experience the area. Here are my five favorite things to do within an hour of Santa Fe:

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1. Ojo Caliente. Just an hour north of Santa Fe, this is a hot springs connoisseur’s paradise with eight different hot pools with varied mineral content from iron to lithium to arsenic. Highly recommend you spend the night as there are fewer people in the pools early and late in the day. Consider checking out Chimayo Sanctuary on your way up there. 

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2. Ten Thousand Waves. If you want to experience natural springs closer to town, this venerable landmark is the closest you’ll get to Tokyo in the U.S. with its spa, small hotel and Izanami restaurant. 

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3. Canyon Road and Museums. There’s no U.S. city with more galleries or museums per capita than Santa Fe. Galleries are strewn throughout town, but Canyon Road and the Railyard give the most array of choices. And, when it comes to museums, I’m particularly partial to very different spots: the Folk Arts Museum within walking distance of our future Sunmount campus and SITE Santa Fe at the Railyard.

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4. Turquoise Trail. Not far from our MEA ranch are the funky artsy towns of Madrid and Cerrillos. Madrid has more galleries, gift shops and either spots, but I’m partial to Cerrillos because of the Blackbird Saloon, Mary’s Bar, Casa Grande Trading Post, and the Cerrillos Station Mercantile General Store. 

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5. Galisteo Basin Preserve. Just a 5 minute drive from the Ranch is one of the best hiking, biking, and horseback riding sets of trails in the Santa Fe area and it’s generally quiet there so it’s a great place to seek some solitude. 

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Just like it’s hard to pick out my favorite things to do, I had a challenge choosing my 5 upcoming favorite workshops in Santa Fe (I’m not including those I’m teaching in Baja nor two of our mega-workshops that are virtually sold out: Michael Franti in May and Richard Rohr in July). And, I haven’t included any of the amazing workshops in Santa Fe that I’m not co-leading, so here you go (with all those warnings):

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1. A Mastery Week With The World’s Leading Evolutionary Astrologer with Steven Forrest (May 20-25): Steven has been my “modern elder” for the past quarter century, helping me to see the subtle themes in my life with the intent of effectively evolving my consciousness in this lifetime. This workshop is perfect for anyone wanting an extra clue about how to curate their future.

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2. Finding Flow in Midlife & Beyond with Steven Kotler (June 10-15): There may be no person on earth with a deeper understanding of how to find one’s flow than Steven Kotler. His New York Times bestselling books and rabidly loyal following show just how popular his message is. I love that I’ll be co-leading this with my cofounder Christine Sperber. 

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3. Still Coming Out - Evolving Identity as Older LGBTQ+ People (June 17-22): We’ve found that some of our niche-oriented workshops - that have featured focused demographics like women, black people or Latinos - can be some of the most impactful because there’s a deeper form of transparency and empathy that arises. I’m very excited about this workshop. Feel free to tell your queer friends about it. 

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4. The Seasons of Life with Pico Iyer (July 8-13): I dare to say that Pico Iyer is my favorite modern day philosopher, but he’s so much more than that. He’s an exquisite travel writer, TED talker, mindfulness thought leader, and role model as a human. I have no doubt this will be a deep, rich workshop. 

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5. Join the Radiant Rebellion and Reclaim Aging with Karen Walrond (August 27-September 1). I love Karen’s book “Radiant Rebellion: Reclaim Aging, Practice Joy, and Raise a Little Hell”
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and know this workshop will help you better understand what gets better with age so you can shift your mindset on aging from negative to positive which, according to Yale’s Becca Levy, will give you seven and a half years of additional longevity. 

-Chip