New Mexico is home to some breathtaking destinations, and summer is the perfect time to hit to road and explore. Here are a few of my favorite places to fall in love with; and they are either in Santa Fe or only a hop, skip, and a jump from the city.

1. KASHA-KATUWE TENT ROCKS NATIONAL MONUMENT

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is a geologic wonder, full of towering cone-shaped tent rock formations formed after volcanic eruptions took place six to seven million years ago. Explore the contoured canyons and arroyos carved over the centuries by wind and water on a national recreational trail containing two segments. The Cave Loop Trail is an easy 1.2 mile hike. The more challenging Canyon Trail takes you 1.5 miles one-way into a narrow canyon then steeply up a 630-foot climb to the top of a mesa, with spectacular views of surrounding mountains. (Check the weather report before setting out to hike here as the canyon can flash flood and lightning can strike the ridges.) This is also a wonderful spot for viewing wildlife.

2. BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT

Best known for mesas, sheer-walled canyons, and the Ancestral Pueblo dwellings found among them, Bandelier also includes over 23,000 acres of designated Wilderness. It was named for Adolph Bandelier, a 19th-century anthropologist. Proclaimed on February 11, 1916.

3. CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

The crowning achievement of Archbishop Lamy’s church construction in New Mexico, the Saint Francis Cathedral was built between 1869 and 1886 and designed in the French Romanesque Revival style. Although its design contrasts the surrounding adobe buildings, the cathedral remains one of Santa Fe’s most celebrated landmarks. Built on the site of a church that was destroyed during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and replacing a later adobe church called La Parroquia, the Saint Francis Cathedral was created with stone from local quarries. Portions of La Parroquia remain in the form of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, which houses a wooden statue of the Virgin known as Our Lady of Peace. The statue was first brought to Santa Fe in 1625 and was returned to the city by the armies of Don Diego de Vargas during the re-conquest of 1692. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI officially elevated the church to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.

4. PECOS NATIONAL HSTORIC PARK

In the midst of piñon, juniper, and ponderosa pine woodlands in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains not far from Santa Fe, the remains of Indian pueblos stand as meaningful reminders of people who once prevailed here. Now a national historical park demonstrates to modern visitors the cultural exchange and geographic facets central to the rich history of the Pecos Valley.