Taos Travel and Vacation Guide At a Glance
Best Time to Visit Taos New Mexico
When you visit Taos depends on why you visit Taos. Obviously if the lure of the many surrounding ski resorts draws you to the area, you’ll need to come during the winter or early spring. Taos is also popular among hikers, backpackers, and biking enthusiasts who descend upon the town from late spring until mid-autumn. If you’re coming because of the thriving arts community, you can schedule your trip anytime. Taos does have a global reputation as an arts center, and recent estimates suggest that 15 percent of the permanent population earns a living by painting, sculpture, writing or a related artistic field of endeavor. Click Here to find hotels in Taos. If you need additional visitor information for Taos, Click Here.
Average Taos Weather
December, January, and February are chilly and dry with less than an inch of precipitation and a mean average temperature in the 20s. March, April, and May see little rainfall and gradually increasing high temperatures, starting with an average high of 51 degrees in March and hitting an average high of 70 degrees in May. During June, July, and August expect warm days with highs in the 80s and moderate rainfall of slightly more than an inch per month. Fall comes to Taos gradually, starting with still warm Septembers, and Octobers having highs in the 60s and 70s dropping to crisp highs in the low 50s for November. August sees the most rain, an annual average of two inches.
Transportation
Most visitors drive to Taos using either NM 68 or U.S. 64, and it is helpful to have a car to get around the area. The Taos Airport (tel. 505/758-4995) is primarily used by local charter services. Albuquerque International Airport, approximately two hours away, is the closest major airport. America West, American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Northwest and Skywest Airlines serve it. Advantage, Alamo, Avis, National, Hertz, and Thrifty car rental companies all have airport outlets. Faust's Transportation (tel. 505/ 758-3410) offers transportation to Taos and the surrounding ski resorts.
In-Season Costs
For a small area Taos is blessed with a range of eateries - from inexpensive to expensive, most falling in the moderate range where breakfast is available for fewer than $7, lunch seldom tops that price and a dinner without wine can be found for fewer than $15. That said, you might want to plan on at least one blowout in the $30 range at one the area’s fusion cuisine restaurants in a renovated building. Check with your hotel staff for a recommendation regarding the newest creative cuisine in Taos, it changes often.
Hotel rooms can get pricey during ski season. If you don’t book well in advance expect to pay around $150 to $180 for a moderately nice hotel room during ski season. Taos is a town where it is always best to book ahead --- hotel rooms are almost never available on a walk-in basis.
Be certain to budget some shopping money. The local arts and crafts scene is the repository of many one of a kind items and you’re likely to find yourself tempted into a sketch or a bracelet.
New Mexico Tourism - Taos Attractions, Activities and Day Trips
If you want to combine the outdoor activities available in Taos with an urban day trip, Santa Fe is only 70 miles away and makes a nice contrast to the laid-back atmosphere of Taos. Cross Country skiers won’t want to venture far for a day trip because in nearby Carson National Forest they’ll find maintained trails, including peaceful Amole Canyon, off NM 518 near the Sipapu Ski Area. There’s a three-mile loop closed to snowmobiles and several trails open only to cross-country skiers.
Keep in mind that the Taos area itself offers a range of mini-vacations from visiting the Taos Pueblo and Casino to spa services and the Millicent Rogers Museum of Northern New Mexico just four miles outside of Taos.
Plan on spending at least a day exploring Taos Pueblo, where 200 residents live much as their ancestors did 1,000 years ago. Call 505/758-1028 for complete information. It’s open in winter daily 8:30am-4:30pm and during the summer daily 8am-5pm, with a few exceptions. It closes one month every year in late winter or early spring. Call to find out if it will be open when you plan to visit Taos. The Tiwa tribes have lived in Taos for over 900 years. Many residents practice ancestral rituals, bake bread in hornos, and most still drink water that flows down from the sacred Blue Lake. Arts and crafts and traditional food are on sale.
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Things to do in Taos NM, Sightseeing and Taos NM Tourism
View our list of tourist attractions, activities, events, hotels, restaurants and visitor information entries to help you plan a Taos NM Vacation! Find detailed information on the Taos NM tourism entries by clicking on their links. Narrow your search by selecting from a specific travel category on the left hand menu.
Places to stay in New Mexico - Top New Mexico Accommodations
Some of the most popular places to stay in Taos NM include El Monte Sagrado, Autograph Collection, Indian Hills Inn Taos Plaza and Casa Gallina. View all places to stay in Taos NM.
If you enjoy swimming, view our list of hotels with indoor pools in Taos NM.
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