Upper Watershed Hikes

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Closed to the public since 1932, the Upper Santa Fe Watershed has undergone a dramatic transformation during the last decade to protect our watershed and water supply. Using management tools such as mechanical thinning and prescribed burning, the City of Santa Fe and U.S. Forest Service along with the Santa Fe Watershed Association have been working over the last several years to restore the forest.

These tours are your opportunity to learn about the restoration efforts and catch a glimpse of this nearly pristine forest that supplies 45% of the City’s drinking water supply. During a 5 mile round trip hike through The Nature Conservancy’s Santa Fe Canyon Preserve and the Upper Santa Fe Watershed, experts from the Santa Fe Watershed Association, the City of Santa Fe, and U.S. Forest Service lead participants on a visit to Nichols Reservoir, beaver lodges and dams, and cover topics such as the history of Santa Fe’s drinking water supply, how the reservoir systems work, forest thinning and healthy forest ecology, the role of beavers in our watershed, and other topics about the ecology of the Santa Fe Watershed.

Thank you to the City of Santa Fe for its support of this program.