Indian Detours: The Fred Harvey Adventure that Put Santa Fe on the Road Map

In 1926, a remarkable chapter of Southwestern travel history was born — the Indian Detours, a visionary travel program created by the legendary Fred Harvey Company that blended hospitality, culture, and exploration into a unique experience for early 20th-century adventurers.

Best known for its iconic Harvey Houses and the famed Harvey Girls who brought civility and good food to long railroad journeys, the Fred Harvey Company saw a new opportunity as automobile travel began to eclipse rail. The answer? A series of curated road excursions — Indian Detours — departing from flagship hotels like La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe and whisking “Detourists” off into the heart of the Southwest in stylish Harveycars: Cadillacs, Packards, and other luxury touring vehicles.

From La Fonda — purchased by the Santa Fe Railway in 1925 and transformed into a jewel of Pueblo and Spanish-inspired design — travelers began two- and three-day journeys to ancestral pueblos, cliff dwellings, and dramatic landscapes. These routes showcased Tesuque, Santa Clara, San Juan, Isleta, Pecos, and even Bandelier’s Puye cliff dwellings, turning what had once been rough, remote terrain into accessible destinations for curious explorers.

Notably, the Indian Detours brought a new professionalism and depth to cultural tourism through the role of the couriers. When Fred Harvey Company leadership sought guides for these tours, they found the perfect foundation in Erna Fergusson’s Koshare Tours, a regional touring business she had founded in 1921. Harvey acquired the business and Fergusson’s expertise became central in training a Corps of Couriers: college-educated, knowledgeable women who immersed travelers in Southwestern history, archaeology, linguistics, and Native culture.

These couriers — resplendent with concho belts, squash blossom necklaces, and bright velveteen skirts — were more than tour guides; they were storytellers shaping the first widespread narrative about the Southwest for visitors from across the United States. Their training was rigorous, their presence iconic, and their impact long-lasting in how Americans pictured Pueblo country and Native cultures.

While the Great Depression and improvements in roads eventually made the Indian Detours less essential, their legacy endured: they helped place Santa Fe and La Fonda at the crossroads of heritage tourism and inspired generations of car-borne explorers — from Route 66 travelers to today’s history walkers. For visitors exploring downtown Santa Fe now, retracing the footsteps of early Detourists is a delightful way to connect past and present in America’s oldest capital city.