Average Weather
December, January, and February are chilly and dry with less than an inch of precipitation and a mean average temperature in the 20s. March, April, and May see little rainfall and gradually increasing high temperatures, starting with an average high of 51 degrees in March and hitting an average high of 70 degrees in May. During June, July, and August expect warm days with highs in the 80s and moderate rainfall of slightly more than an inch per month. Fall comes to Taos gradually, starting with still warm Septembers, and Octobers having highs in the 60s and 70s dropping to crisp highs in the low 50s for November. August sees the most rain, an annual average of two inches.
Transportation
Most visitors drive to Taos using either NM 68 or U.S. 64, and it is helpful to have a car to get around the area. The Taos Airport (tel. 505/758-4995) is primarily used by local charter services. Albuquerque International Airport, approximately two hours away, is the closest major airport. America West, American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Northwest and Skywest Airlines serve it. Advantage, Alamo, Avis, National, Hertz, and Thrifty car rental companies all have airport outlets. Faust's Transportation (tel. 505/ 758-3410) offers transportation to Taos and the surrounding ski resorts.
In-Season Costs
For a small area Taos is blessed with a range of eateries - from inexpensive to expensive, most falling in the moderate range where breakfast is available for fewer than $7, lunch seldom tops that price and a dinner without wine can be found for fewer than $15. That said, you might want to plan on at least one blowout in the $30 range at one the area’s fusion cuisine restaurants in a renovated building. Check with your hotel staff for a recommendation regarding the newest creative cuisine in Taos, it changes often.
Hotel rooms can get pricey during ski season. If you don’t book well in advance expect to pay around $150 to $180 for a moderately nice hotel room during ski season.
Taos is a town where it is always best to book ahead --- hotel rooms are almost never available on a walk-in basis.
Be certain to budget some shopping money. The local arts and crafts scene is the repository of many one of a kind items and you’re likely to find yourself tempted into a sketch or a bracelet.
Day Trips
If you want to combine the outdoor activities available in Taos with an urban day trip, Santa Fe is only 70 miles away and makes a nice contrast to the laid-back atmosphere of Taos.
Cross Country skiers won’t want to venture far for a day trip because in nearby Carson National Forest they’ll find maintained trails, including peaceful Amole Canyon, off NM 518 near the Sipapu Ski Area. There’s a three-mile loop closed to snowmobiles and several trails open only to cross-country skiers.
Keep in mind that the Taos area itself offers a range of mini-vacations from visiting the Taos Pueblo and Casino to spa services and the Millicent Rogers Museum of Northern New Mexico just four miles outside of Taos.
Plan on spending at least a day exploring Taos Pueblo, where 200 residents live much as their ancestors did 1,000 years ago. Call 505/758-1028 for complete information. It’s open in winter daily 8:30am-4:30pm and during the summer daily 8am-5pm, with a few exceptions. It closes one month every year in late winter or early spring. Call to find out if it will be open when you plan to visit Taos. The Tiwa tribes have lived in Taos for over 900 years. Many residents practice ancestral rituals, bake bread in hornos, and most still drink water that flows down from the sacred Blue Lake. Arts and crafts and traditional food are on sale.
