The Santa Fe River with beavers, water bugs, and year-round water? Yes, in the usually closed to the public Upper Santa Fe Watershed. The Santa Fe Watershed Association leads hikes into the closed watershed on the second Saturday of every month July through October, fire danger permitting. This a the only legal way to discover a part of watershed rarely seen. Learn about how the natural and cultural history of the area and how our watershed is managed. Local specialists will join us to talk about history, water issues, river health, and native animals and plants. The hike is five miles round trip. We start at the Nature Conservancy's Santa Fe Canyon Preserve to learn about the first two dams on the Santa Fe River. Then it is up to Nichols' Reservoir, one of the two reservoirs that supply the city of Santa Fe with drinking water, and finally to the river to catch and look at aquatic insects.

All hikes start at 9:00 am and finish at 2:00 pm. The hikes are free for Watershed Association members and a five dollar donation is suggested for non-members. For more information contact Pamela at (505) 820-1696 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it