Active Travel In Taos, New Mexico

If you’re looking for active travel ideas in Taos, New Mexico, we can help! the region is filled with Native American culture, beautiful hikes and gorgeous drives like the High Road to Taos.

Enveloped by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Taos is especially lively, and well-known for its active travel options. From mountain adventures, to llama riding, and some unique cultural stops along the way, this lovely city has just about everything.

Guest contributor, Fred Mays offers some fun recommendations for active travel in Taos.  Plan your trip with his ideas.

Mystical City: Taos, New Mexico

Taos is often viewed as a side trip from a vacation to Santa Fe. Don’t make that mistake!

Taos is a destination in its own right. There is so much to see and do, from the arts, to the historic and mystical Taos Pueblo, and any number of outdoor adventures.

Let’s start with the Taos Pueblo, continuously inhabited by the Tanoan people for over a thousand years. It’s the longest inhabited community in the United States.

The pueblo is the permanent home to about a dozen Native American families today, who live without modern conveniences like electricity or running water. It’s not a life for everyone, and the population has slowly declined in recent years.

Active Travel in Taos

Those same mountains hold another key to Taos travel fun. They are filled with hiking trails, mountain biking trails, and in the winter there are four ski resorts just out of town.

White Water Rafting

The Rio Grande River Gorge slices through the high desert terrain, and outfitters run the rapids with rafts and kayaks. During the spring melt-off the river swells with Class III and IV whitewater.

I floated the river with New Mexico River Adventures during calmer water times. Guides do an excellent job of explaining the history of the river and surrounding wild country.

Hiking with Llamas

For wilderness hiking in the Carson National Forest without the need to lug a heavy pack, there are llamas to carry the load.

Wild Earth Llama Adventures provides a guide and llamas for day hikes or multi-day treks in the mountains around Taos, or in the Rio Grande river gorge. You’ll be surprised how much more terrain you can cover by not carrying that heavy pack on your back.

The Taos climate is four seasons. It sits at seven thousand feet elevation on the high plains, desert terrain.

Even during the summer it cools off enough at night for a light jacket or sweater. Winters are moderately cold and snowy, especially in the higher mountain elevations.

Riding bikes

There are miles of mountain biking trails in state parks and the national forest. We rented bikes from Gearing Up Bikes and toured trails in the Rio Grande Gorge State Park, overlooking the river gorge, north of Taos.

Enjoying winter fun

In the winter the mountains around Taos have four ski areas to pick from. The largest is Angel Fire with peaks over 11,000 feet.  There are also trails for cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

Art and culture in Taos

Art lovers have an abundance of opportunities to let the Taos culture atmosphere satisfy them. There are eight museums in town, and over 40 art galleries. A complete list can be found at the Taos Visitor Center website.

We spent an enjoyable hour visiting the Enchanted Circle Pottery in the Taos Canyon, getting the tour from owners Kevin and Jo DeKeuster. They explained their creative process, which includes firing molds in a wood fueled kiln to 2,400 degrees.

Where to eat in Taos

For restaurants, I recommend Lambert’s on Bent Street. It has a full menu for dinner, and a fine wine list.

Another more budget conscious restaurant is The Gorge Bar and Grill on Taos Plaza right by the main plaza entrance off Route 68, Paseo del Pueblo Sur.  For lunch the Burger Stand on Paseo del Pueblo Sur serves up huge burgers and craft beer.

Visit a winery

Just south of Taos you will find a rarity, a New Mexico vineyard. The Vivac Winery sits just off Highway 68, the road from Santa Fe.

Vivac Winery has a full tasting room, and obviously you can buy wine by the bottles or the case. We found the current vintage quite good.

So no matter whether you are seeking adventure, culture, or just a nice place to enjoy a glass of wine and dinner, Taos has a lot to offer. I’ve spent four days there and would go back in a heartbeat because there is so much to see and do.

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