Taos or Santa Fe, New Mexico

[Bob806]

Hi folks, looking for some advice on which area to visit for a few nights. We'd be departing the Farmington, NM area (want to see the Bisti Badlands) and basically having a hard time deciding on which area to pick.

We simply like scenery, brief hikes (like 4 or 5 miles tops), & peace & quiet by a campfire (if no burn bans of course) in early May 2022. I'm sure my wife wouldn't mind shopping at some botiques.

[timandsusan]

We go to Santa Fe and sometimes Taos every year for the past 8 years on our trip to Durango. Santa Fe Skies is our pick in Santa Fe. You might consider a day trip to Los Alamos to tour the mesa top city and its great museum. Also walking tours around downtown Santa Fe are really interesting. The mural in the City Gov't building is incredible and the walking tours take you there! Great food every where.

[JoeH]

The last time we were in Taos, we stayed at Taos Valley RV Park. Good location close to town. Sites adequate for our 43' MH and toad.

[profdant139]

This blog post may be of interest:

Blog post

Bring your appetite. The food is amazing, no matter where you go in New Mexico.

[padredw]

Depending on the time you have, you could do as we have often done: Spend a few nights in Santa Fe (I concur with Santa Fe Skies, but we also like Ranchos de Santa Fe on the east); then move on up to Taos. We prefer Taos Valley RV Park. But last Summer we stayed up at the Taos Ski Valley for free on their parking lot. No hookups, no campfire, but access to both shops and great trails. Also great cell signal.

While you are in Santa Fe, you should take a day drive up the Old High Road to Taos, stopping in Chimayo for lunch at Ranchos de Cheymayo, one of New Mexico's great restaurants. Stop also at villages such as Truchas and Trampas and the old mission churches. You can scoot back to Santa Fe on the main highway.

We enjoy eating breakfast and/or lunch at Michael's Kitchen in Taos.

[Bob806]

Thanks everybody who chimed in. It's always great to read suggestions from folks who've explored the areas.

It will be our 1st trip to New Mexico, certainly hoping it won't be the last. We don't have enough time to check out places like Gila, White Sands, and City of Rocks SP, so we will return.

[dblr]

I would vote for Taos, Santa Fe was nice but more city than I prefer, I also agree about Red River, Angle Fire and Eagles Nest and especially Shot Gun Willies

[Desert_Captain]

I recommend Taos, makes a nice jumping off spot for Angel Fire, Eagle Nest and Red River. In Angel Fire do not miss the Viet Nam Memorial. Red River is a hoot with lots to see and do but do not miss Shotgun Willies {awesome smoked brisket breakfast burritos smothered in Hatch Green Chile sauce} and the Red River Brewery. The entire area offers lots of spectacular hiking ATV/UTV and horseback riding as well.

Drive the "enchanted Circle {Taos to Angel Fire to Red River, Questa and back to Taos. The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, west of Taos is a must see.{Our best friends have a gorgeous home in Angel Fire so we are up there 2 - 3 times a year.}

:C

[dedmiston]

Will you be visiting Chaco while you're staying in Farmington? If you haven't been there before, I'd put it even higher on my list than Bisti. The Bisti Badlands are pretty cool, but there's so much competition for more amazing spots in NM.

How much have you "been there, done that" in NM? If you're open to something "different" we had an amazing time down south just above the panhandle. We stayed at a place called Rusty's RV Ranch and used that as our base to cross over the hills into AZ to visit Chiricahua National Monument. It was one of our most memorable days ever. Chiricahua is very much like Bryce, UT.

We got some nutty advice from the nice woman who runs Rusty's. She gave me a Xerox of a hand-drawn map and sent us over the hill. As you can see by the toys in my sig, I'm no stranger to off-road driving, but this was pretty intense in our long bed dually. It was a dirt fire road that still had plenty of snow on it. There were no turnouts and we were committed, so we kept going.

The smarter/safer way was to head north to I-10 to loop around the range. But it was one of those days that made for incredible memories.

Or if you're trying to stay up north, we loved it up in Angel Fire, northeast from Santa Fe.

If you'd rather stay closer to the city, Albuquerque makes a pretty good base to explore Santa Fe and Taos. Make sure to take the mountain loop to the east of town and drive up through Madrid (MAD-rid and not muh-DRID).

You can practically throw a dart at the map of New Mexico and find amazing things. Even our trip to Bisti was a fun and memorable day.

[Heisenberg]

COE water and electric
Surrounding attractions include:Abiquiu Lake Recreation Area

Ghost Ranch
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
San Pedro Wilderness
Cumbres Toltec Railroad
Chaco Canyon
Bandelier National Moument
Taos and Santa Fe, N.M.

[Lwiddis]

I’m partial to Santa Fe.

[IDman]

Taos has better scenery and is closer to Red River and other mountain areas for fishing, hiking, etc. Taos is smaller, quieter, and just as crowded as Santa Fe.
Taos weather in May could be 85 and sunny or 35 and snowy.

Santa Fe would be best for shopping, dining, and history. And crowds. Should be warm days and cool nights in May.

[2112]

We haven't been to Taos in many years but we go to Santa Fe every few years. So much history and things to do and see there. Take in the history. A quick Google search will help.

THIS will give you an idea of hiking trails in the area.

Visit the farmers market if it still exist, the plaza in old downtown, and try some excellent New Mexican food at The Blue Corn Cafe a few blocks from the plaza.

[Bob___Ann]

Bob
I know that you are probably looking for more guidance then this but both are great spots with lots of history. Taos is a smaller town while Santa Fe is a city. If I were you I would read up on both and see what interests you the most. We cant help you with RV parks in Taos but if you stay in Santa Fe I would do Santa Fe Skies. The New Mexican food is fantastic throughout the entire area. Enjoy your trip.