Fellow travelers, HELP!

It's been several years since we visited Sante Fe and Taos, and we need our southwestern fix badly.

We were going to wait until May, but we just can't resist a weeklong trip in mid-March. It's during my spring break (I'm a teacher).

The reason for my post is my concern about the weather in northern New Mexico--we don't ski, so we're worried about getting into a cold mess if we try Sante Fe or Taos again.

Is it too cold & yucky in Sante Fe in March for winter-challenged folks like us?

Are there other locales in New Mexico we should consider? In the south for instance?

Thanks in advance!

Santa Fe and Taos will be wonderful in mid-March. Expect temperatures between 50 and 70 F, warm sunshine, dry air. The mountains will be still covered with snow, but Santa Fe will be spring-like. When I was there in March for two weeks we had wonderful weather. Only once, we had a snowstorm for just half a day until the sun came out again. Snow-covered cacti are part of the charme of northern New Mexico. The next day we had 70 F and warm sunshine. So is the desert. Don't hesitate to go to Northern New Mexico.!
But if you really want some warmth, head for Tucson. You may make a trip including Tucson and White Sands. Mesilla (Las Cruces) can be a good base for exploring White Sands, because it has the old town and some authentic New Mexican restaurants. To be sure, it is nothing compared to Santa Fe.

It is rare for Santa Fe to be 70 in March. We usually get a late season snow and March is still very white! I pulled up stats from last year : March 5,2005: high 46 low 27
March 15,2005: high 28 low of 8 with snowfall.... However, since it is quite dry here the cold is not so bitter and most days it is sunny...If I was not a skier I would rethink coming here that time of the year...

It will be cold, but not necessarily snowy. This winter has been fairly dry so far.

Lee Ann

My husband and I went in early April 2005 and it was cold - it snowed almost everyday in Sante Fe and Taos!!! It was nice even though it snowed, but I was hoping to get away from the N.E. winter. I had checked the weather from previous years and it was supposed to be in the 60's. We don't ski either!!! We left N.M. and went on to Arizona [Grand Canyon and Sedona] and found the weather lovely!!!

Thanks all for your insights.

Our current thinking is to split 9 nights, 8 days between Sante Fe (last 2 nights) and then head south to stay in any or all of:

Silver City
Las Cruces
Socorro

We found what appear to be some cool B&B type places in Silver City and Las Cruces.

Has anyone had experience with these towns?

I'd go with what Cybermom said and head to Arizona. Theres not much to do in the 3 towns you mentioned..

Sorry to be a spelling geek, everyone, but the city's name is Santa Fe.

I haven't been to Silver City yet, but Socorro and Las Cruces don't do much for me.

You might want to go up to Lincoln (Billy the Kid historical stuff, and it's a pretty little town) and then over to Ruidoso for your last couple of days. We were in Lincoln in November on our way to Carlsbad and had a very nice time.

Lee Ann