justretired

We’re trying to organize a trip to northern New Mexico in early October. We are visiting friends in Boulder at the end of September, and thought we’d use the opportunity to drive south and visit the areas around Taos and Santa Fe before heading to Albuquerque before heading home.

If you were going to the area for the first time, how many days we should plan for the trip; I was thinking about 10? We plan to fly into Denver and out of Albuquerque. In Europe, we are slow travelers, preferring to stay in one or two locations and making day excursions (about an hour or so) in all directions, but I suspect this way of traveling is not ideal for this trip.

My husband and I are in our mid-seventies, and have never had the chance to explore this part of the country. We enjoy natural scenery and walks probably no more than 2 or so miles at a time; we are not hikers. We are interested in history, culture, and art (I am an artist) and have never had the opportunity to explore Native American communities, which I would love to explore. My husband is a retired computer guy, and loves all things technological. In addition, he is a language buff, and is interested in being able to hear Spanish dialects and to speak the language. Oh, and we really love to eat! Here is our rough plan:

1. Our plan is to leave Boulder and head to Taos. And then onto Santa Fe. We understand that there are more than one way to do these legs of the trip and I’ve bought maps to help sort this out. After leaving Boulder, we thought we would stop in Colorado City, which appears to be about the half way point. Do any of you have suggestions of places to visit on our way to Taos?

2. Once in Taos, how long should we stay, where should you stay and eat, what should we see, and what day trips would you recommend?

3. What routes would you use to go to Santa Fe, and should we stop along the way for a night or more? Once in Santa Fe, I guess we have the same questions- timing, places to stay and eat, day trips, and so forth.

4. We know that there are 2 routes from SF to Albuquerque. We probably would take the shorter route, which seems to have a number of Native American sites. Any suggestions?

5. Suggestions for Albuquerque would be appreciated.

Thanks so much in advance for any suggestions you might have.

Michael

This album might give you some ideas. Most of them are concentrated around Santa Fe and Taos with day trips to Bandelier National Monument and on the eastern side of the mountain range. The Hispanic towns and churches between Santa Fe and Taos are also of interest.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjp5VZr7
I wrote a trip report of a week (or maybe a long weekend) spent in Santa Fe, arriving and departing from Albuquerque; click on my name to find it.

jamie99

I enjoyed visiting the various Indian pueblos especially San Ildefonso and also Bandelier.If you have the time, a short drive west of Albuquerque is Acoma pueblo also called Sky City, it is very unique and worth the visit.

Melnq8

You might get a few ideas from one of our CO-NM road trips:

Eating our way through Northern New Mexico

sylvia3

I would suggest pushing farther south than Colorado City (Google it)

sylvia3

Or just drive the 5 hours to Taos.

emalloy

About an hour west of Santa Fe is Bandelier NP, an ancient dwelling area.

justretired

Thanks everyone. Sylvia, I meant Colorado Springs not City.

I heard about the Albuquerque Balloon Festival which sounds terrific, but also means hotels in both Santa Fe and ALB will be expensive and crowded. I need to find lodging ASAP. Any suggestions of where in each city we should look for lodging.? We like inns and B&Bs, that , but have never used Air B&B. Any recommendations on specific casitas or inns?

sylvia3

Wouldn't stop in the Springs, either!

Melnq8

If you have the time and interest, I recommend that you take the more scenic 'back way' and avoid I-25 as much as possible thus incorporating some (or all, if you start from Estes Park) of the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway.

https://www.coloradodirectory.com/maps/peak.html

I live in CO and one year we drove from our home to Estes Park via the 'back roads' (you could do this in reverse).

Our route was - Highway 67 North to Deckers where we picked up County Road 126 to Pine Junction, then joined 285 E. Time lapse video of the drive here:


From 285 E we joined 470 W, then I-70 W, where we detoured five miles to Idaho Springs for lunch.

After lunch we backtracked to I-70, exited onto the Central City Parkway and meandered through the relatively well preserved former-mining-now-casino-town of Central City and the not-even-remotely preserved over-the-top blight on the landscape casino town of Black Hawk, with its landmark eyesore, the Ameristar Hotel.

We eventually located 119, driving through Rollinsville and Nederland, then on to CO Highway 72 and CO Highway 7. This is a gorgeous stretch of road (The Peak to Peak Scenic Byway).

If you do this route in reverse, you'll end up near Woodland Park, where you can then turn west on Highway 24 to Buena Vista.

I'd suggest spending the night in Buena Vista - pretty little town. This route will take you through the South Park basin, and you'll see the beautiful Collegiates. Watch for bison and antelope.

Mt Princeton Hot Springs makes a good overnight stop.

https://www.colorado.com/articles/co...llegiate-peaks

The following day continue south on 285 towards Poncha Springs, then turn on CO-17, skirting The Great Sand Dunes. Stop for lunch in Alamosa (I highly recommend The Ruby Slipper) then continue on to Antonito via the San Luis Valley.

Then turn onto US 64 towards Taos, passing (or stopping at) Earthship Biotecture.

https://taos.org/what-to-do/landmark...ip-biotecture/

Make a stop at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge (look for Big Horn Sheep) then continue on to Taos.

justretired

Thanks for such a wonderful detailed itinerary of your drive. I'm not sure exactly what we'll do yet, but I suspect we'll spend more of our time in New Mexico. Our friends have lived in Boulder for many years and I'm sure we'll get a taste of their region. On the other hand, we are seniors and tend to keep our traveling driving time to 3-4 hours, about the amount of time it takes us to visit the new York City area where some of our family lives.

A couple of years ago, my daughter and her now husband spent a night in the Earthship Biotecture. and loved it. we'll have to at least consider that in our own itinerary.

Thanks again. We booked our flights today and need to at least biik lodging in Albuquerque because of the huge international balloon festival.

Diamantina

As you are an artist, you might want to visit Abiquiu.
Near Santa Fe, visit El Sanctuario de Chimayo.

MoBro

justretired

Thanks you, Diamanta. How far is Abiquiu from either Taos or Santa Fe? Is it a day trip from either. I've thought about it , but didn't think it would be possible.

And, MoBro, La Fonda is fully booked- and really expensive. Looking for other centrally located inns or even B&B's.

Melnq8

May I also suggest:

A downtown walking tour - Santa Fe - departs daily at 10 am from the concierge desk at La Fonda Plaza Hotel - book in advance

A side trip from Santa Fe - drive to Madrid via the Turquoise Trail

The High Road between Taos and Santa Fe

Abiquiú is 53 miles north of Santa Fe. If you blink you'll miss it.

Depending on your route, you might want to stop at Echo Amphitheater in Carson National Forest

Diamantina

While in Santa Fe, take a stroll along Canyon Road.
https://www.visitcanyonroad.com/

Abiquiu is a just a little out of the way, that is if you're taking the main route from Santa Fe to Taos (285). As an artist, I think you'd find it interesting and worth the detour to see the landscape that inspired Georgia O'Keefe. Go into Google Maps, enter Santa Fe, then Abiquiu, then Taos.

justretired

Thank you Diamantina and Mel- heading out shortly to see old friends and will take a look at these posts later.

-Margie

MoBro

justretired

I also wrote this on Fauxdor Friends:

I just sat down and started working on lodging for the trip, starting with Albuquerque because of the timing with the balloon festival. Deb, you thought that this would be more difficult and you are correct, though there are lots of casitas listed on AirB&B. My difficulty is trying to figure out where to stay. It seems Old Town is the convenient to many of the sites, but Andee also said it was harder to get tot the balloon festival from downtown. Where would you stay? shoudl I look farther north?

We will be ini ALB from Oct 8-11. Help! I wish I understood this city. Thanks, Margie K

Here are some possibilities that I found:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2532634...17saaT3gXqIlss

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/34783902?location=Albuquerque%2C%20New%20Mexico%2C %20United%20States&adults=2&check_in=2019-10-07&check_out=2019-10-11&source_impression_id=p3_1563374560_pUKI%2B19SefbW8 UlT&fbclid=IwAR3RpOun9HvFb5jObfNHzn0K9Oh0KW1QfMa0G5zcM QhkxUnwE2CXdM2nFtc

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/34783902?location=Albuquerque%2C%20New%20Mexico%2C %20United%20States&adults=2&check_in=2019-10-07&check_out=2019-10-11&source_impression_id=p3_1563374560_pUKI%2B19SefbW8 UlT&fbclid=IwAR3RpOun9HvFb5jObfNHzn0K9Oh0KW1QfMa0G5zcM QhkxUnwE2CXdM2nFtc

Melnq8

I'm afraid I won't be of much help regarding location in ABQ. When I was there a few years ago we opted to stay in New Town, as I'd read so many bad things about accommodation in Old Town.

We found New Town a great base for us, but we weren't there during the Balloon Fiesta.

If the Deb you refer to on the other site is Deb from NM (former poster here on Fodor's) - you're in good hands with her. I'd heed her advice, whatever it might be.