Car Travel

A car is your most practical means both for reaching and getting around Taos. The main route from Santa Fe is via U.S. 285 north to NM 68 north, also known as the Low Road, which winds between the Rio Grande and red-rock cliffs before rising to a spectacular view of the plain and river gorge. You can also take the wooded High Road to Taos, which takes longer but offers a wonderfully scenic ride—many visitors come to Taos via the Low Road, which is more dramatic when driven south to north, and then return to Santa Fe via the High Road, which has better views as you drive south. From Denver, it's a five-hour drive south via I-25, U.S. 160 west (at Walsenburg), and CO 159 to NM 522; from points east or west, take U.S. 64 (keeping in mind that U.S. 64 west of Taos, between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla, is often closed because of snow in winter).

Cottam Walker Ford and Enterprise are the two local car-rental agencies in Taos; rates typically start around $200 per week but vary greatly depending on the season.