Most Unique Park: The Railyard Park

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About The Park

The Railyard Park is probably the most famous in Santa Fe, and for good reason. This unique park is located near the Santa Fe Plaza and matches the area’s rich culture of art, the outdoors, and science. The park is filled with people and events in the summer such as Santa Fe’s farmers market. For a list of events at the Railyard Park, check out their official website.

Parking is paid, $1 an hour. It’s shared with the surrounding businesses. Some great nearby attractions are the Violet Crown movie theater, Whoo’s Donuts, and Shake Foundation, a kid-friendly and diet-sensitive burger joint.

Landscaped Green Space
Paid parking
Playground for kids of all ages
Shaded Picnic Tables

Walking Trail
Handicap-Accessible
Amphitheater
Sandboxes

The Playgrounds

The creators of the Railyard Park used natural materials to make their play structures. Unique architecture makes up critical pieces of the park, such as a stone amphitheater, a “Very Large Slide Array,” which is modeled after the Very Large Array of satellite dishes in southern New Mexico.

One notable feature of the park is the lack of plastic structures commonly seen in other playgrounds. There are rope climbing structures, natural rocks for climbing, and metal spinning structures beside a stone sandbox. During the summer on Saturdays there is a free sandbox event where volunteers bring toys and hoses for kids to get dirty in the sand and mud. It’s a huge hit with toddlers!

This park has no sports fields.

Picnic Tables and Benches

There are benches made from stone, wood, and metal throughout the park. Many have dedication plaques for donors. There are picnic tables near a large green space. A great place to sit in the park is in circular planters, each filled with grass and situated under a large shade tree.

Landscaping

If your child loves trains, there is a retired train engine as the park merges back into the city. But if you’re lucky, a real train, the Rail Runner, runs next to the park. The train tracks give this park its name, the Rail Yard.

Want a nice walk in a garden? The stone structures and the unique architecture of the park make the walking paths look like something out of a magazine.