The Don Gaspar Inn is the perfect launching spot for daytrips. Regardless of the direction you travel, you will discover something new. The small roads that surround Santa Fe provide a unique experience of the New Mexico landscape. On Route 14, accessible off of Route 25 or Cerrillos Road, is a stretch of land known as the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway, encompasses 15,000 square miles, linking Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The Turquoise Trail gets its name from the blue-green turquoise first mined by the early Pueblo people as early as 900 A.D. The Trail begins to the South in Tijeras and the Cibola National Forest, then heads north through Cedar Crest, Sandia Park, Edgewood, Golden, Madrid, and Cerrillos. Along the 65 miles are homes, ranches, vacation lodging, restaurants, RV parks, a golf course, a ski resort, museums, horseback riding stables, shops/galleries and lots of respected craftsmen and artists. The trail is filled with the rustic charm of the old West, as well as some newer developments and artistic pursuits. The Turquoise Trail is easily accessible to/from The Don Gaspar Inn.
