My boyfriend and I are from Sydney, Australia, and will be spending 5-6 nights in the Santa Fe, Taos, Las Vegas area in April. We will be there during the Easter period. Will museums, shops and attractions still be open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday and Monday? What about the Taos and Acoma pueblos?

I was driving between Taos and Santa Fe one year on Easter day. This is a very religous area of the country (mostly Catholic) and they were enacting the crucifixion at Sanctuario de Chimayo. Jesus was walking (from Taos I think) to the fabulous old church in Chimayo, dragging a huge wooden cross with him -- along the way his followers walked with him, many, many of the faithful.

Despite these strong traditions, I'm sure that the tradition of the almighty dollar is stronger. But I don't know for sure.

The museums should be open during Easter. Tandoori Girl is correct- there are many Easter celebrations and pilgramages that happen in that part of the state. If you're interested in seeing some, try the NM tourist councils.

Are you going to Las Vegas specifically? Just wondering because I used to live there... Most people don't know it exists.

Thanks for the replies. We were thinking of driving from Taos to Angel Fire to Eagle Nest to Cimarron to Wagon Mound and staying overnight in Las Vegas. Would you recommend these places as somewhere worth driving through??

Wagon Mound is not much of a town. It would probably take you 10 mins. to tour the whole thing. As far as I know, there's nothing in Wagon Mound worth stopping for, including gas. Las Vegas is kind of different. There's some historical value in the town, but from what I hear from the in-laws, it's a dying town.

If you want to stay in Las Vegas, there's a few nice hotels. The Plaza hotel is one of the oldest in nothern NM and it's been featured in many movies set in the southwest. They have an attached restaurant and bar. The Inn at the Santa Fe Trail is another favorite for movie stars when filming in the area. There's also a Comfort Inn that's not bad.

I can also recommend some decent restaurants in town, if you need them. I guess my main question is what you want to see/do on your vacation. Are you looking for museums and places with historical value? Do you want to see nothern NM beauty? I don't want to steer you off your path if going to Wagon Mound has always been a dream, but I would hate for you to have a disappointing vacation. I can recommend some historical sites in Las Vegas, etc. if you're interested.

Here's a few places I would recommend that kind of fit in the loop you mentioned:
Pecos National Park
Ft. Union National Park
Ft. Sumner (grave of Billy the Kid is here)
Capulin Volcano (east of Raton- this may be a little too far north, but it's an interesting place to visit if you have time)

Definitely keep the Taos and Acoma pueblos as well. They're very fun to visit and the pottery, jewelery, and rugs are amazing. Another thing to keep in mind is that it may be very cold and windy in April. Northern NM is at a rather high elevation, and Taos is situated in the mountains.

I hope this helps. Please post if you have other questions!