Taos is home to an art colony, a world-class ski resort, an ancient community and the land of Earthships. It’s a hidden gem, a place that should be explored. There’s an abundance of delicious restaurants, bars and art galleries to explore in the plaza of Taos.
Taos Mesa Brewing is a microbrewery & restaurant near the historic Rio Grande, and only 15 minutes from the town of Taos. It is also an earthship, which means it is made of natural and upcycled materials to form a passive solar house. Earthships are buildings that do two things: first, it utilizes sustainable architecture, and material native to the local area or recycled materials wherever possible; second, the homes rely on natural energy sources and can be independent from the grid. They are very architecturally and ecologically interesting, and I would recommend taking a look! If you want to discover more, there are also Earthship tours offered in Taos. Mesa Brewery also has an indoor and outdoor stage for live music performances. In the winter there is also a half-pipe in the back for snowboarders to perform tricks.
There are a number of ski resorts surrounding the area: Taos Ski Valley, Angel Fire, Red River, Sipapu and the Enchanted Forest Cross Country Ski Area. I went to Taos Ski Valley, and was pleasantly surprised with the great skiing the New Mexican Rockies provided. It is much less crowded, and much cheaper than skiing in Colorado with a minimal difference in ski conditions. There are many options for tubing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and ice-skating, if you want to enjoy all aspects of winter in Taos!
Just three blocks from Taos Plaza the hotel resort, El Monte Sagrado, offers a secluded yet indulgent sanctuary. Towering mountains and rustic high desert and the sounds of calming waterfalls surround El Monte Sagrado. El Monte Sagrado has consistently been ranked as one of the top resorts in the world, and I was lucky enough to stay there utilizing rewards points. We stayed in a casita, which are the original historic rooms at El Monte Sagrado. Each suite has a different design inspiration, and ours was known as the “kama sutra” room, also known as the honeymoon suite, which we got a good laugh out of. It was a beautifully designed, and authentic space with private gardens, ponds and a waterfall in our backyard. If you are looking for a splurge, I would highly recommend staying here, otherwise, there are many affordable hotels in the area.
A visit to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge provides awe-inspiring views of the 7th highest bridge in the USA, and a great view of the roaring Rio Grande River cascading below. The bridge is on the way to a number of natural hot springs in the area such as Blackrock and Manby. We decided to go to Manby springs, since it was a short 15-minute hike to the side of the river. We really liked it because there were three different springs to choose from with various water temperatures, but they’re typically around 97 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on river height.
Directions to Manby Hot Springs: From Taos, go north on RT 64 and continue on RT 64 toward the Taos Airport. Turn right on Tune Road, roughly across from the airport. Travel about 4.2 miles to where the road forks, keep left. Continue about .5 miles more to the parking area at edge of canyon and walk about .5 miles down the old wagon road at the left side of the parking area.
Make some time to check out Taos, especially if you’re from Colorado, it’s a mere 4 hour drive from Denver! Let us know if there are any other hidden gems we should know about.
XOXO,
Lexi
