Taos NM Area

[winnbrave1]

After finally getting our RV repaired, my wife and I are looking at a trip to the Toas, Sante Fe, Valles Caldera areas. This will be our first visit to the area.
I have scoured many pages on this site concerning things to see and where to camp.
It appears there are several minimally improved campgrounds. Some being "parking Lots," and others casino parking lots. One post mentioned Toas Monte Bello RV park. Is it still open? Anyone recently stayed there? Also, Road Runner RV Park, same questions. One more, White Rock RV park;
I have a class A, 32' gasser and will be pulling a toad. I read there are may good restaurants and places to see. Would love comments about those.
Planning on being there about May 1st for about 3 weeks.
Please for any and all advice!

[High Road Travelers]

I must be missing something, but I have not been impressed or found anything enjoyable with Taos. I do enjoy staying in Angel Fire, which is fairly close to Taos. I'm not beating down on Taos; sometimes I miss things that are really good. I did think Santa Fe was pretty nice and liked going there.
Don't know anything about Valles Caldera. Hopefully some other responses will advise what to do or see in Taos.
Monte Verde RV Park and Angel Fire RV Resort are good places to stay in Angel Fire.
Thanks,

[twogypsies]

Stay in Sante Fe at Sante Fe Skies RV.

You can easily 'do' Taos and the surrounding area as day trips.

Taos Pueblo

Angel Fire
Eagle Nest
Drive up to Abiquiu/Ghost Ranch (famous painter, Georgia O'Keefe's hangout)
Drive up to the Santa Fe Ski Area for a looksee

Kasha-Katuwe (Tent Rocks) - very unique
Albuquerque things
Los Alamos (tour)
Bandelier Nat'l Monument
Valles Caldera - beautiful area (we stayed at a forest service campground nearby)
Rio Grande Gorge

That area will keep you busy! Very nice.

[wolfe10]

Will second either Angel Fire (both very high end and a nice family owned RV park OR Eagle Nest with several CG's. Have spend more than a decade in those areas and will be back this summer. Go into Taos for some shopping and for concerts.


Just east of Taos and particularly in summer a much nicer/cooler climate.

[Mark_K5LXP]

Since you have a toad, your options are better.

There's things to see/do in Taos like the gorge, some historic attractions like Kit Carson museum, perusing old town shops. Maybe there's some snooty restaurants up there somewhere but I've never sought them out. Brewpubs are more my speed. There's certainly enough there to warrant a visit but it's not what I'd call a destination.

Now the "area" around Taos offers more to see. The road from Taos around through Questa, Red River and Eagle Nest and Angel Fire is call the "enchanted circle" and with your toad you could check out that loop. I recommend stopping in at the Vietnam Memorial in Angle Fire.

South from Taos is the Taos High Road that takes you through a remote but scenic area, passing by Santuario de Chimayo. That will take you through Espanola and on to Santa Fe. Santa Fe has a bunch of historical, art, and restaurant attractions. I've always liked the Palace of the Governors.

Another path you can take is south/west of Taos towards Los Alamos (Bradley museum), Bandelier National Monument, past the Valle Caldera, and south through Jemez Springs. That would be a solid day trip plus right there. Not sure what your specific plan is for Valles Caldera, there's limited public access in there for hiking/fishing/camping.

There's a COE campground at Cochiti Lake, an easy drive from there to Santa Fe or Albuquerque. Tent Rocks is near there, worth a day hike.

I've been all over this state for the last 30 years or so from motorcycle day rides to boondocking in the class A, so not many places/things I haven't seen or done at this point if you have any questions.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

[bigchick]

it a was out of taos but we really enjoyed red river, nm

[Reprobate]

Originally Posted by bigchick

it a was out of taos but we really enjoyed red river, nm

X2. We always spend time in Red River. 45 minutes from Taos. Prefer it over Angel Fire.

[Donskiman]

We stayed in Taos for a week last summer at Taos Valley RV Park. It's on the south end of Taos and far enough away from the highway to keep road noise from being an issue. There are several restaurants and stores within walking distance. The downtown area was maybe 3 miles. We looked at Taos Monte Bello, but it's several miles out of the city with nothing really nearby and it's close to the highway.

We've had some good food at Doc Martin's in the downtown area and Orlando's on the north side. Orlando's doesn't take reservations and there was a line waiting to get in when they opened.

We drove the Enchanted Circle and visited Red River and Angel Fire on our way around. The RV parks in Red River that we saw were pretty tight. Angel Fire RV Resort is really upscale. While the park is great, it's not really near anything. Eagle's Nest Lake was having an algae issue so we didn't go near the water. The road between Angel Fire and Taos is fairly narrow and winding with a few switchbacks.

We drove to Lake Abiquiu to paddleboard. There's a COE park there. Looked like most sites were on the small side and unlevel. We also visited the Rio Grande River Gorge and hiked along the top for several miles. Lots of hiking around Taos. In early May some of the trails may still have lots of snow.

[TonyDi]

We stayed at Angel Fire in Taos two years ago and loved it.

In Santa Fe we stayed at Santa Fe Skies. Great staff that went out of their way to help us. They had a huge Foretravel rally taking place while we were there but they still made us feel at home and important.

[LRbill20]

We spent a week at Taos Monte Bello last year and really enjoyed it. Great owners, quiet and quite serene. We intend to stop there again one day.


Taos art district is pretty nice but Santa Fe is much better. Frankly, we didn't think Taos was all that great.


Enchanted circle is worth doing for certain but we felt that Red River was the highlight. Angel fire had nothing. Hard to find a place to get lunch even. The scenery on the drive was very nice.


When in the Taos are make sure you take a few minutes to check of the gorge. Pretty cool!


Michaels Kitchen for breakfast. Right on the main drag as you get into town.

[Reprobate]

Originally Posted by LRbill20

We spent a week at Taos Monte Bello last year and really enjoyed it. Great owners, quiet and quite serene. We intend to stop there again one day.


Taos art district is pretty nice but Santa Fe is much better. Frankly, we didn't think Taos was all that great.


Enchanted circle is worth doing for certain but we felt that Red River was the highlight. Angel fire had nothing. Hard to find a place to get lunch even. The scenery on the drive was very nice.


When in the Taos are make sure you take a few minutes to check of the gorge. Pretty cool!


Michaels Kitchen for breakfast. Right on the main drag as you get into town.

X2! You nailed it.

[PanJH]

We stayed at Taos RV and Taos Monte Bello . Both were suitable for our 43' MH and full sized toad. Taos RV is more in town where Monte Bello was outside of town. We preferred Taos RV due to location.

[dblr]

We stayed for 9 days at Taos Monte Bello last September and loved it, great host and very helpful, beautiful views and our son lives close so that was our reason for staying there. You can drive to a lot of other areas to sightsee from there.

[winnbrave1]

Thanks for all the info, really appreciate all of you taking the time to share your
your experiences and preferences.
Overall, your responses have given me much more insight concerning the area nd sights.