We are planning a ski trip to Taos this feb or march. Not sure where to stay, up at the lifts or in town. Generally we like to be near the lifts but last year in Jackson Hole we were glad we stayed in town vs up at the lifts. We enjoyed the town restaurants and shops. Any suggestions of favorite places or ideas would be really great. Thanks

The town of Taos is cute - with art shops and the like - but it is quite a distance from and much lower than the resort of Taos ski area. It's about an 45 minute to an hour drive - (if it's not snowing) up to the Taos ski area/"valley" - and I would recommend staying up at the mountain, and maybe stay in the town of Taos when you arrive or leave for a day or so.

The ski area had a cute village area. Not big but cute.

I think it ndepends on whether you want to drive to ski or drive to eat. There are only a handful of restaurants at the hill, so your dinner options would be extremely limited. If you don't have a car, getting from one place to the other can be an issue, as (unlike most other places we've skied), there is no free bus between town and the hill.

There are many better ski towns than Taos Telluride Crested Butte Vail.Taos is a small western town sort of tourist trappy
cute expensive no really good places to stay.I usually overnite in the ski area for a ski day or 2 out of www.innatloretto.com Santa Fe best food vibe lodging by far.
directrooms.com for deals.

The snow at Taos, right now, is far better than Telluride. Also, Telluride is FAR more expensive that Taos. Getting to Telluride is more difficult [flight and drive].

Staying in Santa Fe to ski in Taos seems like a long, unnecessary drive.

What kind of skiers are you? Taos has more intermediate and above runs.

Santa Fe has great skiing right now, just a thought.

Hubby and I are both good skiers but I am at the point where I enjoy cruising on intermediate runs. We skied Jackson Hole last year and it was challenging. I have hear Taos is an upper end ski area, so I am okay with that. Funny you should mention Teluride as that is the other place I am looking at. I didnt realise how far Taos was from the ski area of Taos. as far as flying and driving, dont you have to fly and drive a couple hours from ALQ too?

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That is rubbish. There are plenty of good places to stay in Taos and the #1 recommendation would be La Posada de Taos B&B. If you can't get a room there, go to Orinda B&B, each is very nice.

Taos isn't that expensive - you can eat well for a normal amount of money (

Don't say that about the snow, DebitNM! I'm going to Telly in February!

I went to Taos in January 2010. We stayed in the little village which actually was very fun, but then again I was with a ski group so we were never bored. Hanging out at the St. Bernard's was fun and there were enough places to eat. I never even went into the town of Taos because there was SO MUCH SNOW that week that the hotel wouldn't lend us the van. Didn't really interest me anyway as I am not into southwestern art stuff. I think Tom's idea of staying on the mountain and then planning for a day off or at the beginning/end of your trip to spend in Taos is the best idea.

We were also there during Taos Ski Week at the end of January. This was a brilliant idea as you are required to be in a lesson from 10-12 and I think it was $99 for the week. The groups are small and you are placed according to ability. In my case there was only one guy from my ski group in my lesson so it was a good opportunity to get away from the larger group and have people to ski with at my level. The week I was there it would not stop snowing. There was so much powder it was absolutely incredible. Aside from the long time it takes to get to Taos once you are there, if there is good snow, it's a fun trip.

Went to Crested Butte last February. Again, awesome ski town and it's MUCH closer to the mountain than Taos. Here I would definitely stay on the mountain for the ski-in/ski-out and then take the shuttle bus into town. It's a 5-10 minute trip and very common to do. SO EASY. Really fun mountain, lots of challenging terrain, and good people. Town is awesome-fun places to eat (hit up the sushi that turns into a disco), nice shops, etc. Great trip.

Vail is my absolute favorite. I know some people here complain that the town is manufactured or something like that, but it's just the most awesome mountain. You have the main village, Lionshead, then go to Avon or Edwards if you have a car. I also really like Beaver Creek although I would not schedule a holiday around that one mountain. Well, I did last month but ONLY because I had free lodging at my friend's condo in Avon, but we did Vail twice and BC twice.

Heading to Banff this weekend which should be interesting. Never been and it sounds amazing...especially because we're staying at the Fairmont!!!!

You would fly into ABQ and then drive to Taos. In good weather, that should take about 2.5 hours.

[And skiergirl, please don't call it Telly or T'ride. It's just Telluride. ]

Have you seen my restaurant picks for Telluride?

Lift tickets are over $100 a day [single day] for adults at Tellride, $75 at Taos [single day]