Shopping in Taos

Retail options on Taos Plaza consist mostly of T-shirt emporiums and souvenir shops that are easily bypassed, though a few stores carry quality Native American artifacts and jewelry. The more upscale galleries and boutiques are two short blocks north on Bent Street, including the John Dunn House Shops. Kit Carson Road (U.S. 64), has a mix of the old and the new. There's metered municipal parking Downtown, though the traffic can be daunting. Some shops worth checking out are in St. Francis Plaza in Ranchos de Taos, 4 mi south of the plaza near the San Francisco de Asís Church. Just north of Taos off NM 522 you can find Overland Ranch (including Overland Sheepskin Co.), which has gorgeous sheepskin and leather clothing, along with a few other shops and galleries (plus a restaurant), and an outdoor path winding through displays of wind sculptures. You'll find another notable cluster of galleries and shops, along with a few good restaurants, in the village of Arroyo Seco, a 15-minute drive north of Taos toward the ski valley.