Taos Ski Valley.

Taos Ski Valley. Review

Skiers and snowboarders from around the world return to the slopes and hospitality of Taos Ski Valleyevery year This world-class area is known for its Alpine-village atmosphere, one of the finest ski schools in the country, and the variety of its 72 runs—it's also slowly but surely becoming more of a year-round destination, as the valley attracts outdoors enthusiasts with spectacular, and often challenging, hiking in summer and fall. There aren't many hotels in the valley but most have been converted to ski-in ski-out condos since the early 2000s, further evidence that the once-funky ski area is becoming more of a Colorado-style full-scale resort town. Some of the best trails in Carson National Forest begin at the Village of Taos Ski Valley and traverse dense woodland up to alpine tundra. There are relatively few summer visitors, so you can have the trails up to Bull-of-the-Woods, Gold Hill, Williams Lake, Italianos, and Wheeler Peak nearly all to yourself. Special events like barn dances and wine tastings occur occasionally throughout the nonskiing seasons.

Taos Ski Valley lies about 10 mi beyond Arroyo Seco—just continue up NM 150, which crosses a high plain, then plunges into the Rio Hondo Canyon to follow the cascading brook upstream through the forest and up into the mountains where NM 150 ends. (The road does not continue to Red River, as some disappointed motorists discover.)