Santa Fe has been recognized as New Mexico's top city for walkers and was rated as one of the top 100 walking cities in America by Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA). Santa Fe was ranked as the 22nd best walking city in the country from a survey of 500 American towns.

This year, cities were evaluated on 14 walking criteria, including the percentage of adults who walk to work, number of parks per square mile, use of mass transit, and percentage of adults who walk for fitness. New this year, a Best Walking City was also named in each of the 50 states, from an evaluation of its 10 most populated cities.

Santa Fe's visitors and health-conscious population can choose from any number of parks and trails to walk in addition to the near limitless choice of hiking trails in the adjacent Santa Fe National Forest. With over 300 days of annual sunshine, a compact downtown area perfectly suited for walking, and a comprehensive public transit system, Santa Fe is clearly a foot-friendly city.

The APMA and Prevention annually team up to measure the walkability of America's cities. Walking is the most popular form of exercise with 87.5% of Americans walking for fitness. Research shows that every 30 minutes spent in a car increases our risk of obesity by 3% and each 0.6 mile walked daily decreases the risk by 5%.